It was the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group-owned Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) who hogged the limelight both ahead and at the IPL 2017 player auctions. A day ago, the management eased out Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the captain's role, replacing him with “young” Australian skipper Steve Smith. Dhoni captained the side in its maiden appearance last year, when RPS finished seventh.
At the auctions, RPS came in with only Rs 17.5 crore and spent a whopping Rs 14.5 crore on picking up England all-rounder Ben Stokes. It is the most expensive buy in IPL history, as far as overseas players are concerned. The deal will benefit RPS since their bowling department looked weak last season, and Stokes is, arguably, one of the best all-rounders in world cricket now.
The other costly buy of the day was Tymal Mills. There was a fierce bidding war between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab, only for Royal Challengers Bangalore to snatch the England pacer from right under their noses with an astronomical sum of Rs 12 crore. With RCB's strike bowler Mitchell Starc parting ways with the franchise and pulling out of IPL 2017, they had to acquire a strike bowler to lead the pack. A back injury forced him to stick to the shortest format of the game, but it has proved to be a boon. With the ability to work up some serious pace—read, 140-145 kmph—and a clever mix of variations, the left-armer would be the strike force Virat Kohli's RCB needed.
Tymal Mills | AFP
Here are the top 10 signings:
Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiants): Rs 14.5 crore
Tymal Mills (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Rs 12 crore
Trent Boult (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 5 crore
Kagiso Rabada (Delhi Daredevils): Rs 5 crore
Pat Cummins (Delhi Daredevils): Rs 4.5 crore
Chris Woakes (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 4.2 crore
Rashid Khan Arman (Sunrisers Hyderabad): Rs 4 crore
Nathan Coulter-Nile (Kolkata Knight Riders): Rs 3.5 crore
Karn Sharma (Mumbai Indians): Rs 3.2 crore
T. Natarajan (Kings XI Punjab): Rs 3 crore
Fast bowlers, especially foreigners, were the prized possession in the auction, with seven of the top 10 buys being pacers.
The other high point of the day was when Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi made history by becoming the first Afghan players to be part of IPL. Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad signed up the 18-year-old leg-spinner Khan for Rs 4 crore and Nabi for Rs 30 lakh. The senior player, who is in Zimbabwe along with Khan and the rest of the team, expressed his joy on Twitter.
Feeling on top of the world being selected for Team @SunRisers @IPL auction. Tnx for your love & support. pic.twitter.com/O1ROW8BSpY
— Mohammad Nabi (@MohammadNabi007) February 20, 2017
Along with the Afghans, others who had a reason to rejoice were a handful of uncapped Indian players. The first name has to be Natarajan, a 25-year-old left-arm pacer who shot to fame in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2016, taking 10 wickets in seven matches. He followed it up with a good show in the Ranji Trophy, scalping 27 wickets in nine matches. Mohammed Siraj, too, was rewarded for a stellar performance in the Ranji Trophy where he emerged as the third-highest wicket taker, with 41 scalps. The 22-year-old Hyderabad lad was picked up by his home team for Rs 2.6 crore. The other two players who struck gold were K. Gowtham (Mumbai Indians bought him for Rs 2 crore), Aniket Choudhary (He went to RCB for Rs 2 crore) and Kerala pacer Basil Thampi who went to Gujarat Lions for Rs 85 lakh.
But it wasn't a rosy picture for all. While some unheralded players were making hay, there were many international players who did not find any takers.
Ishant Sharma | AFP
Some of the big names who went unsold
Ishant Sharma (Base price: Rs 2 crore)
Brad Haddin (Base price: Rs 1.5 crore)
Jonny Bairstow (Base price: Rs 1.5 crore)
Marlon Samuels (Base price: Rs 1 crore)
Alex Hales (Base price: Rs 1 crore)
Irfan Pathan (Base price: Rs 50 lakh)
Imran Tahir (Base price: Rs 50 lakh)
Ross Taylor (Base price: Rs 50 lakh)
Cheteshwar Pujara (Base price: Rs 50 lakh)
Thisara Perera (Base price: Rs 50 lakh)
Of the 351 players who took part in the auction, 66 were sold—27 overseas players and 39 Indians, which included 30 uncapped domestic players. While RPS spent the most—Rs 17.2 crore out of possible Rs 17.5 crore—RCB spent Rs 15.4 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders Rs 14.35 crore, Delhi Daredevils Rs 14.05 crore, Kings XI Punjab Rs 9.45 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad Rs 8.65 crore, Mumbai Indians Rs 8.2 crore and Gujarat Lions Rs 3.85 crore.
