5 players who caused a furious bidding war in the IPL 2016 Auction

The IPL Auction saw its fair share of surprises. It was an exercise in self-evaluation with the result being reaffirmed or shattered under the hammer. Some players set their base price in crores and the Veblen Effect failed them miserably. While others set a low base price, keeping their expectations low, only to be astonished at the price they were sold by. Also read: IPL 2016: Teams and full players listThe teams which participated in a bidding war for the lesser known players were probably hoping that they will be able to walk away with a steal. But owing to bidding wars many players ended up being sold for enormous sums way beyond the price they had set. Here is a look at players who really underestimated themselves at the auction.

#1 Pawan Negi

Pawan Negi

Pawan Negi is surely the most surprised of the lot after the frantic interest he drew in the auction. He was just named to the Indian team for the upcoming ICC World T20 squad. That good news would have been hard to top. But his stock in the IPL auction comes close to, if not overshadows, his good fortune.

Pawan Negi had set a base price of Rs 30 lakhs. A modest amount for a cricketer who is playing for India. Little did he realize that he would end the day as the most expensive Indian player at the IPL auction. Negi outpaced Yuvraj Singh who was the second most expensive Indian player at the auction. Negi was the second most expensive player overall at the auction, right behind Shane Watson who went for Rs 9.5 crore.

Rising Pune Super Giants and the Delhi Daredevils engaged in a furious bidding war and ultimately Pawan Negi was sold to the Delhi Daredevils for INR 8.5 crore. Hard to believe that it was just 2 seasons ago that he was signed for Rs 10 lakh by CSK.