2019 IPL Auction: 5 Deals that Shocked the World
The 2019 IPL Auction got underway in the Pink City on Tuesday afternoon. More than 350 players had put their names in the auction hat with the expectation of getting bought by any of the eight franchises.
With the 2019 edition of the auction coming a year after the ‘mega auction’, most teams were rather subdued and sprang into action only when their desired player’s name came out of the hat.
With approximately 70 slots to fill, the franchisees bought the majority of their players in the first half of the auction. Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals arrived with the highest kitty and thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the auction.
The tag of being the highest paid player went to Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy with the pair being sold for INR 8.4 Crore each.
However, there were several high-profile players like Yuvraj Singh and Brendon McCullum who failed to attract a bid in the first phase.
Like every year, there were several deals through the auction that caught everyone off guard. Through the lens of this article, we would take a look at those deals that shocked the world.
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Mohit Sharma (Bought by CSK for INR 5 Crore)
The speedster from Haryana was released by Kings XI Punjab after a sub-standard season in 2018. Yet, at the 2019 Auction, Chennai Super Kings splashed out INR 5 Crore for his services.
Mohit initially burst onto the scene as a promising youngster under the tutelage of MS Dhoni while playing for CSK. Capable of extracting movement with the new ball, the pacer developed enough variations to make him a tricky proposition to handle in the shortest format of the game.
However, for a couple of years, Mohit has looked out of sorts in the IPL with several batsmen finding joy batting against him. Moreover, his pace has dropped and he doesn’t look the threatening bowler that he once was.
CSK arrived at the auction with only a couple of spots to fill and INR 8.4 Crore in the bank. Thus, their decision to invest INR 5 Crore in a worn down fast bowler like Mohit raised eyebrows.
Mohit can still silence all his doubters by helping CSK retain their title but the amount of money CSK paid despite having better options makes his deal a certainty on our list.
Hence, he slots straight into our list.