IPL Auction 2019: Most expensive players
The much-awaited 2019 IPL Auction came to an end as a total of 60 players were picked for the 70 available slots. The auction that took place in Jaipur on Tuesday was a sort of peculiar one as we witnessed a lot of surprises at the event. Plenty of players went unsold at the auction while many of the players' names weren't called out.
The India players, both capped and uncapped, were in high demand as the franchises came up with effective strategies while going after the players. The limelight of the event was Varun Chakravarthy whom Kings XI Punjab bought for INR 8.4 Crore - almost 42 times his base price of. At INR 8.4 Crore, Chakravarthy became the most expensive uncapped player at the 2019 IPL Auction. He also happened to be the joint-most expensive player of the 2019 IPL Auction.
Besides Varun, another player who made the headlines was Jaydev Unadkat who was recently released by Rajasthan Royals. Alongside Varun, Unadkat at INR 8.4 Crore became the joint-most expensive player at the event. Astonishingly, the left-handed paceman was acquired Rajasthan Royals - the same team who left him out ahead of the auction. This very move speaks volumes about franchises' strategies at the event as they were quite cautious while spending each penny.
Unadkat wasn't the only case as alike him Wriddhiman Saha also got back to Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1.2 Crore whom SRH released before the retention deadlines.
In addition to some surprising signings, the franchises overlooked some of the quality names that were expected to make it big at the 2019 IPL Auction. Hazratullah Zazai and Reeza Hendricks are some of the players who went unsold despite being touted as one of the probable signings for many of the franchises.
The big players such as Yuvraj Singh and Martin Guptill went unsold in the first round. Howbeit, both the fiery batsmen managed to find a franchise for themselves before the curtains went down. Just before the end of the event, Mumbai Indians opted for the services of Yuvraj Singh at a price of INR 1 Crore. Meanwhile, SRH also jumped in to bid for Guptill and acquired him at the base price of INR 1 Crore.
To end the day, Hugh Edmeades, the IPL Auctioneer, strike a deal for Riyan Parag who became the last player to be sold at the 2019 IPL Auction. Rajasthan Royals acquired the services of Riyan for the base price of INR 20 Lakhs. With this, Hugh Edmeades called it a day as the curtains went down.
As the 2019 IPL Auction is over, let us now look at the top 10 most expensive players bought at the auction.
Most expensive players at the 2019 IPL Auction:
