IPL 2018 Auction: List of Marquee players sold - Set 1

Stokes was the most expensive player in the first set.

Published - 27 Jan 2018, 11:08 IST | Updated - 27 Jan 2018, 11:08 IST

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Ben Stokes IPL Auction 2018 | CricTracker.com

The much awaited mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced in Bengaluru on Saturday as franchises came with all their strategies. The auctioneer Richard Madley like every year was present for the event as he began the proceedings. As it turned out, Kings XI Punjab were the most active franchise to start with as they bid for every player which went under the hammer. However, it was Ben Stokes who ws the most expensive player in the first set to marquee list of players.

The first player to go under the hammer was Shikhar Dhawan who is currently in South Africa. Kings XI Punjab managed to bid the highest amount for him which was Rs 5.2 Crores but Sunrisers Hyderabad used their first Right to Match (RTM) card for him. Now the ‘Test specialist’ bowler R Ashwin was up for grabs next and surprisingly Chenna iSuper Kings to whom he played for a long time were out of the bidding once his stakes went above Rs. 4 Crore.

In the end, it was KXIP who managed to snaffle him after an intense bidding for a decent amount of Rs 7.6 Crore. Chennai Super Kings used their first RTM card for South Africa skipper which was a smart buy for them at Rs 1.6 Crore.

Universe Boss went unsold

The bag of surprises in the IPL auction began when the most destructive T20 player Chris Gayle went unsold and his base price was Rs. 2 Crore. It was surprising that not even his previous franchise Royal Challengers Banglaore bid on him. However, he has a chance to come back into the auction if the teams request at half his base price.

Mumbai Indians, as expected, used their RTM card for their favourite playwer Kieron Pollard and were visibly delighted for picking him at Rs. 5.4 Crore. The second most expensive player was Mitchell Starc who garnered an amount of Rs. 9.2 Crore from Kolkata Knight Riders. Ajinkya Rahane went for RR back as they used RTm for him at Rs. 4 Crore.