IPL Auction 2017: 5 surprising picks

The 2017 IPL auction saw as many as 66 players getting picked by franchisees in a lot of 351 stars, who went under the hammer for the duration of the day. it was a frenetic auction, which saw many players go for exponential amounts to various teams while there were others as well, who did not get any buyers in the auction.

Also in the mix were a few surprise picks who went for huge amounts and here we take a look at 5 such players:

5.K Gowtham (2 Crores)

K Gowtham was bought by the Mumbai Indians

The Karnataka off-spinner had a good season for his state side in the Ranji Trophy, picking up 27 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 19.51. He proved to be the third highest wicket-taker for the side, behind experienced campaigners like Sreenath Aravind and R Vinay Kumar and led the way in the spin department for the team.

Those performances helped him earn a berth in the India A squad for the warm-up match against the Australians at the Cricket Club of India last week and he did not get enough overs to show his prowess, bowling just four overs for nine runs.

On Monday, during the IPL auctions, the 27-year-old found a buyer in the form of the Mumbai Indians, who roped him in for Rs. 2 Crores to add another component to their off spinning resources.

The addition of Gowtham is just another example of the franchise roping in a low-profile domestic player and providing him a platform to perform. Last season, it was Krunal Pandya who proved to be a very effective player and prior to that, it was Jagadeesh Suchith. Maybe in Gowtham, they may unearth yet another similar kind of player.