Shreyas Iyer became the most expensive marquee player at the Indian Premier League 2022 auction as the Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for ₹12.25 crore.
Iyer’s entry in KKR fold ensures a captaincy candidate for them while the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise also got back their Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins for half the price at Rs 7.25 crore. One of the biggest gainer was South African pacer Kagiso Rabada who fetched more than a million dollar with Punjab Kings successfully buying him for Rs 9.25 crore. India opener Shikhar Dhawan became the first player to go under the hammer. After an intense bidding war with the Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings bought him for ₹8.25 crore.
The other batters in the first set, Faf du Plessis and David Warner, went to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for ₹7 crore and DC for ₹6.25 crore respectively. On the other hand Ravichandran Ashwin got Rs 5 crore winning bid from Rajasthan Royals while Trent Boult with his left-arm swing bowling, laughed his way to the bank with Rs 8 crore bid from Rajasthan Royals. Mohamed Shami was taken by Gujarat Titans for Rs 6.75 crore, the same amount that Lucknow Giants paid for Quinton de Kock.
Meanwhile, The IPL 2022 Auction will resume at 3:30 PM IST. Early lunch was taken as auctioneer Hugh Edmeades collapsed mid-event. Reports suggest he is fine and will be back to the event. And according to report, Charu Sharma the presentor will continue the auction. Hugh Edmeades will have a rest.