Shreyas Iyer was the costliest buy among the 10 marquee players who went under the hammer at the IPL 2022 mega auction with two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders splurging a cool Rs 12.25 crore on the middle-order star batter. Iyer represented Delhi Capitals last season but was released and is expected to be named KKR captain.
Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan became the first player to go under the hammer auction on Saturday. Dhawan, who was part of the marquee players list, was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 8.25 crore.
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Dhawan triggered a fierce bidding war between his former franchise Delhi Capitals and RR after the latter started the bid at his base price of Rs 2 crore.
Offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin, also a former Delhi Capitals star, entered the fray next and he too headed RR camp after being sold at Rs 5 crore. Like Dhawan, RR and DC engaged in back and forth before the former made the successful bid.
Next up, Kolkata Knight Riders bought back Australia star pacer Pat Cummins for Rs 7.25 crore. It was KKR, a former two-time IPL champions, who bid for him first at his base price of Rs 2 crore before newbie Gujarat Titans entered the fray.
Kagiso Rabada, the South Africa pacer, raised the heat and Punjab Kings, who had the maximum purse among the 10 franchises, showed their financial muscle to secure his services at a cool Rs 9.25 crore.
Here’s full list of the marquee players sold in the first round
- Shreyas Iyer – Rs 12.25 crore (Kolkata Knight Riders)
- Kagiso Rabada – Rs 9.25 crore (Punjab Kings)
- Shikhar Dhawan – Rs 8.25 crore (Punjab Kings)
- Trent Boult – Rs 8 crore (Rajasthan Royals)
- Pat Cummins – Rs 7.25 crore (Kolkata Knight Riders)
- Faf du Plessis – Rs 7 crore (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Quinton de Kock – Rs 6.75 crore (Lucknow Super Giants)
- Mohammed Shami – Rs 6.25 crore (Gujarat Titans)
- David Warner – Rs 6.25 crore (Delhi Capitals)
- Ravichandran Ashwin – Rs 5 crore (Rajasthan Royals)
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