5 Biggest mistakes in IPL auction history
On or off the field, the drama never fails to mesmerize the fans when it comes to the IPL. The fans get to experience edge-of-the-seat excitement, be it during the auction or at the high-voltage matches played in the hot Indian summer.
From MS Dhoni (2008) to Varun Chakravarthy (2019), the IPL auction has witnessed several expensive and exciting buys over the years. While there have been bargain buys and players who have justified their price, several players have succumbed to the pressure of astronomical price tags and failed to put up a strong show.
The much-awaited auction for the 13th edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League is all set to take place at the 'City of Joy' Kolkata on 19 December, and several domestic as well international stars will go under the hammer. While 997 players had initially registered for the auction, only the 332 shortlisted players (186 domestic, 143 overseas and 3 Associate Nations players) will be up for grabs.
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All eight franchises have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it will be interesting to see how they strategize their plans at Kolkata. Over the years there have been several surprising moves by the franchises which have gone on to to become major talking points; there could well be such moves at this year's auction too.
On that note, let us now look at the five biggest mistakes by the franchises in the history of the IPL auctions.
#5 Royal Challengers Bangalore using RTM for Pawan Negi
Pawan Negi, who began his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils in 2012, joined Chennai Super Kings in season 7. After his two-year stint with MS Dhoni's men, Negi grabbed the headlines by earning a whopping INR 8.5 crore during the 2016 IPL auction upon his return to Delhi Daredevils.
Following that forgettable stint (57 runs and one wicket in eight matches), the Delhiite moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore for season 10 after being bought for INR 1 crore.
The slow left-arm orthodox bowler, who took 16 wickets apart from scoring 144 runs in 2017, almost joined Mumbai Indians ahead of 2018 IPL as the four-time winners came up with a bid of INR 1 crore. But RCB used their RTM to retain Negi, much to the surprise of their fans.
Negi's retention did not work for RCB at all. He failed to live up to the expectations spectacularly, managing just three runs and one wicket in 2018 and nine runs and three wickets in 2019.
Using RTM for Negi was a really shocking move by Kohli's men, considering the all-rounder's poor IPL stats.