ONI Bureau: While Jaydev Unadkat continued to hog the limelight in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was sold for Rs 8.4 crore to Rajasthan Royals, it was uncapped Varun Chakaravarthy who stole the show by bagging a Rs 8.4 crore contract for Kings XI Punjab. English all-rounder Sam Curran was also sold to King XI Punjab for Rs 7.2 crore.
South African batsman Colin Ingram got a contract of Rs 6.40 crore from Delhi Capitals (DC), while Shivam Dubey was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 5 crore. Axar Patel was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 5 crore. Carlos Brathwaite (Rs 5 crore) and Mohit Sharma (Rs 5 crore) were sold to Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings respectively.
Yuvraj Singh, who had gone unsold in the first round of auction, was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs 1 crore. Young Akshdeep Nath was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 3.6 crore. Kings XI Punjab got Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 4.8 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad got Martin Guptill for Rs 1 crore. Mohammed Shami went to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for Rs 4.8 crore. Lasith Malinga returned to Mumbai Indians for Rs 2 crore. Hanuma Vihari was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore.
A total of 60 players, including 40 Indians and 20 Overseas were sold in the IPL Auction 2019.
Varun Chakaravarthy, the mystery spinner, had taken the Tamil Nadu Premier League by a storm with his performance earlier this year. He was sold for 42 times of his base price of Rs 20 lakhs following a bidding battle between Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab. KXIP had the last laugh. Only in IPL 2018, Varun was made to bowl at the nets for Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders. But, within a year, he became the most sought-after player of the IPL.