IPL 2018 Auction: Players who were paid more than they would’ve expected

The Indian Premier League (IPL 2018) starts with the auctions and thereafter moves to the on-field battle. The buzz generates on the eve of the auction as the headlines and the internet get flooded with analysis and predictions. However, every other season has thrown up some surprises or the other. The auction of the eleventh season was also filled with quite a few surprising moves. There were several players who went way ahead of their expected price as franchises shelled out handsome amounts for the cricketers. In our article, we take you through eight cricketers who didn’t expect the price, franchises paid in order to bag them. 1. Jaydev Unadkat Jaydev Unadkat. (Photo Source: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Jaydev Unadkat has been plying his trade in the Indian Premier League for several years. He has also played for several teams but was unable to cement his pot. However, in the duration of the previous season, the left-arm pacer turned out to be a pivotal performer for the Rising Pune Supergiants team. He also churned out a hat-trick against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and churned out a hat-trick against them. The pacer had a base price of 150 Lakhs ahead of the auction and was expected to be bag a deal. However, teams went all out for him and eventually was sold for a whopping 11.5 crores to the Rajasthan Royals. Meanwhile, he also became the highest grossing Indian pacer in the history of the IPL. 2. Jofra Archer Jofra Archer of the Hobart Hurricanes. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images) | CricTracker.com Jofra Archer, the Barbados-born cricketer, has had a terrific Big Bash League for the Hobart Hurricanes. He has played Under-19 cricket for the Windies way back in 2013 and later moved to England, where Chis Jordan, another Barbados cricketer, introduced him to the Sussex team. He has been playing for the English county ever since. Most recently, he was drafted into the players’ list for the auction. The uncapped player started the biding with a base price of 40 Lakhs and triggered a bidding war. The fast-bowling all-rounder was eventually bagged by the Rajasthan Royals for a massive 7.2 crores, which was 36 times more than his base price. He was undoubtedly one of the star attractions of the auction. 3. Ishan Kishan Mohali: Ishan Kishan of Gujarat Lions in action. (Photo: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Ishan Kishan captained India to the final of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He was subsequently bagged by the Gujarat Lions for whom he opened the innings on quite a few occasions. He played some breezy knocks for them at the top of the order and grabbed eyeballs. Having played in the tournament, the wicket-keeper batsman started with a base price of 40 Lakhs. The former Indian U19 skipper was expected to get a contract, however, not at an overly exaggerated price. Out of the blues, teams went hammer and tongs for the 19-year old youngster and it was eventually the Mumbai Indians team who bagged the Patna-born cricketer for a handsome 6.2 crores. 4. Krishnappa Gowtham Krishnappa Gowtham. (Photo Source: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Krishnappa Gowtham commenced his cricketing career as a T20 specialist. He was considered as someone who can give the ball a fair tweak and also smash the leather out of the park. However, he broke into the Karnataka first-class team in 2016 and has performed exceptionally for them in the Ranji Trophy. He was drafted into the recently concluded auction at a base price of 20 Lakhs. Being an uncapped and most importantly an unknown commodity among the cricketing fraternity, Gowtham wasn’t expected to crack a massive deal. However, Rajasthan Royals stuck to their penchant for domestic cricketers and subsequently, they bought the Karnataka all-rounder for a whopping 6.2 crores. 5. Manish Pandey Manish Pandey plays a shot. (Photo Source: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Manish Pandey emerged as the first Indian cricketer to score a century in the Indian Premier League and hasn’t looked back ever since. While he has been in the scheme of things for the Indian national team, he has also turned out to be a grand success in the IPL. He made his debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and then moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders and has been instrumental for them. After the Knight Riders released him ahead of the IPL retention ceremony, he entered the auctions with a base price of 1 crore. However, he eventually managed to grab a lucrative contract as the Sunrisers Hyderabad bagged him for a handsome amount of 11 crores. 6. D’Arcy Short D’arcy Short of the Hobart Hurricanes bats. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) | CricTracker.com D’Arcy Short has been successfully plying his trade in the Big Bash League. With 504 runs in 10 games at a staggering average of 56, he is currently the top run-scorer in the current edition of the tournament. His swashbuckling knock of 122 runs off 69 balls against the Brisbane Heat hogged the headlines. He was duly rewarded for his stupendous as he was drafted into the list of cricketers to go under the hammer. He started with a base price of 20 Lakhs and wasn’t expected to set the auction ablaze. However, as many as four teams bid for him and it was the Rajasthan Royals who shelled out 4 crores for the Australian cricketer. 7. K.L Rahul KL Rahul celebrates his fifty. (Photo Source: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Lokesh Rahul has already scored T20 hundred for India and has a sterling average of 50.88 at the international level. He also has been a stalwart in the Indian Premier League, playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he hasn’t been retained the Challengers ahead of the auction and subsequently, he entered the auctions with a base price of 2 crores. However, teams went hammer and tongs for the Karnataka cricketer. He lit the auctions as franchises entered into a bidding war for the Indian batsman. Nevertheless, Kings XI Punjab had the last laugh and he was grabbed by the franchise for a mind-boggling 11 crores. 8. Sanju Samson Sanju Samson, Delhi Daredevils. (Photo Source: Twitter) | CricTracker.com Sanju Samson doesn’t play an aggressive brand of cricket, however, he still manages to amass runs at a fair clip. It’s an attribute which has earned him accolades from across the globe. He started his Indian Premier League career as an 18-year old for the Rajasthan Royals and has grown leaps and bounds in stature as a dependable wicket-keeper batsman. Samson started the auction with a base price of 1 crore and immediately triggered a bidding war. Rajasthan Royals started the bidding and tussled along with Mumbai Indians. However, it was the Royals who eventually bagged the Indian cricketer for a reasonable price of 8 crores.

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IPL 2018 Auction: Players who were paid more than they would’ve expected

We take a look at a few players who did indeed made it big in the IPL auction.

8. Sanju Samson

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