Bengaluru: The first day of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction got underway in Bengaluru.
Two new teams (Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants) joined the existing eight franchises Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals as 10 teams, their owners, coaches, support staffs, scouts and for some even the captains were involved in the bidding war in the two-day long IPL 2022 auction.
The much-awaited action saw Shreyas Iyer going to Kolkata for Rs 12.25 cr. Five teams fought for him.
SA pacer Rabada was bought by Punjab for Rs 9.25 cr, while Aussie pacer Trent Boult was bought by Rajasthan for Rs 8 cr. Aussie skipper Pat Cummins was sold to Kolkata for Rs 7.25 cr. Offie Ashwin was bought by Rajasthan Royals at Rs 5 cr.
First to go under the hammer was Shikhar Dhawan. He goes to Punjab for Rs 8.25 cr. The 15th edition of the tournament is likely to begin towards the end of March but before that, this auction will decide how the teams pan out for the next few seasons.
CSK had bid badly for de Kick and Far desperately. Delhi spent big already. The BCCI finalised a list of 590 players for the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Among them, there are 370 Indian players and 270 were overseas players. The overseas players are from different countries like Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka among others.