IPL Auction 2019: 5 Indian players with low base price who fetched big money
The auction for the 2019 IPL season, that took place on December 18 at Jaipur, turned out to be quite an eventful one. As expected the auctions saw plenty of money being splurged all over by the teams.
While a lot of things happened in line with the regular tradition, there were a number of trends which stood broken too. The 2019 auctions witnessed some players with the low price tag receiving big bucks. On the flipside, there were many well known Indian and international names, who failed to attract any buyers and remained unsold.
The availability factor due to the World Cup 2019 was evident during the process and all the franchises were very sceptical when it came down to releasing money for many overseas players as they were slightly wary about their availability throughout the league.
The 2019 auction also underlined the changing perception of the teams. It showed that the teams are now willing to loosen purse strings for talent and not just the names.
In this article, we have a look at one of the most remarkable bits about the auction: the way in which some of the Indian players with a low base price ended up getting a lucrative contract.
#5 Prayas Ray Barman
Bae Price - ₹ 20 lakhs
Purchased for - ₹1.5 Crores
It was a day for teenagers at the IPL 2019 auctions, when well-established names like Dale Steyn, Luke Ronchi, Jason Holder etc. failed to find a buyer. Prayas Ray Barman surprised everyone by attracting astonishing bids during at the auction table by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab.
The 16-year-old made his debut for the Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018. The leg-break bowler is just nine List-A game old, but was very impressive during the tournament, picking 11 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 4.45. While his best performance came on his debut game against Jammu and Kashmir when he bagged four for 20 to lead his team's convincing win.