IPL jackpot for uncapped Karn Sharma, Rishi Dhawan

Bangalore, Feb 13 (IANS) Two 23-year-old uncapped players, Karn Sharma and Rishi Dhawan, earned windfall contracts of over Rs.3 crore each on the second and concluding day of the 2014 Indian Premier League players’ auction here Thursday.

Meerut-born leg-spinner Sharma, with a base price of Rs.30 lakh, ended up with a purse of Rs.3.75 crore as his 2013 team Sunrisers outbid Kings XI Punjab. However, Punjab bagged all-rounder Dhawan (base price Rs.20 lakh), hailing from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, for Rs.3 crore after a battle with Sunrisers.

Incidentally, both Sharma, who represents Railways, and Himachal Pradesh’s Dhawan, have played just 33 first class games.

Good performances in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup matches were also rewarded. Delhi Daredevils picked up Maharashtra’s Kedar Jadhav for Rs.2 crore and Mayank Agarwal of Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka for Rs.1.6 crore while his team-mate Lokesh Rahul earned a Rs.1 crore contract with Sunrisers.

Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs.1.7 crore while Chennai Super Kings successfully bid Rs.1.5 crore for India fast bowler Ishwar Pandey.

South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell, who went unsold Wednesday, was snapped up by Delhi Daredevils at his base price of Rs.1 crore, but some other established players, notably those from Sri Lanka, including Mahela Jayawardene, evoked no bids.

However, New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, who received no bids Wednesday, was picked up by Daredevils for Rs.2 crore and the same was the case with veteran left-arm spinner Murali Karthik who was bought by Punjab at his base price of Rs.1 crore.