Mumbai Indians bought back young wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan for Rs 15.25 crore, making him the most expensive player at the 2022 Indian Premier League auction and the second most expensive Indian player of all time, after Yuvraj Singh's 2015 record of Rs 16 crore.
Kishan, 23, was the top scorer for Mumbai Indians in 2020 IPL and made his debut in the national team for both the ODI and T20 sides the following year. He was also named in India's T20 World Cup squad.
He surpassed Shreyas Iyer's mark of Rs 12.25 crore, which was the previous highest buy at the ongoing auction.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga attracted a record fee for Sri Lankan, going to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10.75 crore. He has performed well in T20 tournaments around the world. His price also makes him the joint-most expensive foreigner of the current auction, so far.
West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran also went for Rs 10.75 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The other top purchases of the day were that of Harshal Patel for Rs 10.75 crore by his former side RCB and Kagiso Rabada for Rs 9.25 by Punjab Kings.
Earlier in the day, Shreyas Iyer was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 12.25 crore, the highest price of the 10 marquee players to be sold first at the 2022 auction.
The event was interrupted as auctioneer Hugh Edmeades collapsed on stage while the bidding was on. It was later revealed that he suffered low blood pressure and his condition is stable. He was replaced by Charu Sharma after the lunch break.
The IPL auction ahead of the 2022 season is being held in Bengaluru over two days. Unlike previous editions of the auction, teams do not have the right-to-match option
While the eight existing franchises have already given the list of players retained by them, the new teams—Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants—were allowed to sign three players each before the auction.
Each team has a purse of Rs 90 crore and each squad can have a maximum of eight foreign players.
