K Gowtham becomes most expensive uncapped Indian player at IPL auction

All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham was on Thursday bought by Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing mini-auction of the Indian Premier League

All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham was on Thursday bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opened the bidding for Gowtham at his base price of Rs 20 lakh but was eventually picked by CSK for Rs 9.25 cr. Star wicket-keeper batsman Mohammed Azharuddeen was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 20 lakh.

Lukman Meriwala went to Delhi Capitals for Rs 20 Lakh. The Baroda pacer had scalped 15 wickets from eight matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January. Chetan Sakariya was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.2 crore. He had his base price as Rs 20 lakh.

Also, Uncapped player Shahrukh Khan was bagged by Punjab Kings. Shahrukh had his base price of Rs 20 lakh but he went to Punjab Kings for Rs 5.25 crore. Delhi Capitals, RCB, and Punjab Kings all made the bids for him, but in the end, the winning bid was made by Punjab Kings.

Shahrukh was in remarkable form in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and he made a major hand in Tamil Nadu winning the title for the second time.

Rajat Patidar was sold to RCB for Rs 20 lakh while India spinner Piyush Chawla was picked by Mumbai Indians for Rs 2.4 cr. Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1 crore while New Zealand pacer Adam Milne and Australian all-rounder Nathan Coulter-Nile were picked up by Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.2 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively.

Indian pacer Umesh Yadav was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 1 crore and Sheldon Cottrell, Alex Carey, Sam Billings, and Kusal Perera all went unsold.

Meanwhile, South African all-rounder Chris Morris became the most expensive player at an IPL auction after he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 16.25 crore.

Morris entered with a base price of Rs 75 lakh. Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) both showed interest before Rajasthan Royals made a belated entry after RCB pulled out at Rs 10 crore.

Bidding continued between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals and the South African all-rounder was finally sold to the Royals. The fee smashed the record Rs 16 crore paid for Yuvraj Singh by Delhi Daredevils in 2015.

India all-rounder Shivam Dube was also picked by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4.4 crore during the auction while England batsman Dawid Malan was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 1.5 crore.

Also, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) while England's all-rounder Moeen Ali was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Rs 7 crore.

Karun Nair who had his base price as Rs 50 lakh did not find any takers and he went unsold quite early in the auction. England batters Alex Hales and Jason Roy who had their base price as Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively also did not find any takers and he also went unsold.