IPL Auction 2017: 5 biggest bargain buys
On a day that saw 352 players vying for a spot in one of the eight teams, only 66 managed to bag an IPL contract for themselves for the upcoming season. While some teams went wholeheartedly for certain players (Ben Stokes was sold for a whopping Rs. 14 Cr to Pune), teams like Gujarat played easy, purchased 11 new players, and still had Rs. 10.5 Cr left in their purse!
Here are the top five bargain buys that can prove to be worth every penny at the nominal rates that they have been bought for, a contrast to the big names that went for exorbitant rates:
#1 Martin Guptill - Rs. 50 Lakh (Kings XI Punjab)
An explosive opening batsman with proven credentials in limited-overs cricket, Guptill gets another opportunity to rectify his poor IPL record. Snapped up by Mumbai Indians as a replacement for the then-injured Lendl Simmons before the 2016 auctions, Guptill
He went unsold in the first round, and didn’t seem to be going for any bids when the Kings XI intervened and bought him for his base price of Rs. 50 lakh.
The right-hander, who has to name a double-hundred in ODIs (one of only five players to do so), can form an explosive opening partnership with Murali Vijay at the top for Punjab.