IPL 2017 Auction sets social media on fire, tops the list of global trends

The much awaited IPL auctions went underway with a plethora of players going under the hammer yesterday on February 20. The popularity of the Indian Premier League needs no introduction. The immense following that the tournament has managed to garner over the years was on display yet again.

The hashtag or the topic #IPLAuction ended up topping the worldwide trends across the different social media platforms on Monday (February 20). From players to fans, from analysts to the team owners – everybody was speaking about the auctions.

As many as 230000 tweets flooded the microblogging site Twitter which had the popular hashtag associated with it. The historic event was also being watched live by the viewers in real time. As many as 11000 viewers viewed the show on Richard Madley’s live video broadcast on Periscope. The time of the day that had the most number of mentions of #IPLAuction was around 1133 (IST). Close to 460 tweets were sent per minute at that instance of time.

Richard Madley is here with us LIVE as he shares his experiences with us #IPLAuction https://t.co/9SsvuPZuKN

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 19, 2017

? #IPLauction✔️ ? Feb 20 ✔️ ⌚ 9:30 AM IST✔️? Live clips✔️
? Photos✔️? Numbers✔️?? https://t.co/ON5cvaHbH2✔️ pic.twitter.com/WkvmGlXLOW

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 20, 2017

Talking about the auctions, the English all-rounder Ben Stokes struck a whopping INR 14.5 crore deal with Rising Pune Supergiants in the auctions. This was a record buy for any overseas player in the history of the tournament. His countryman Tymal Mills also made merry as he was bagged for INR 12 crore by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Another startling feature of the auctions was the purchase of Afghanistan players.

Seriously crazy morning! Thank you for all the messages, can't wait to join up with everyone at @RCBTweets #PlayBold https://t.co/ew03SkZWAm

— Tymal Mills (@tmills15) February 20, 2017

FLOODED WITH HAPPINESS TODAY NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF BUT RATHER FOR OUR JUNIOR ROCKING PLAYER #RASHIDARMAN BEING SELECTED FOR @SunRisers. @IPL

— Mohammad Nabi (@MohammadNabi007) February 20, 2017

Afghan nationals Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan bagged IPL contracts with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. Nabi was bought for his base price of INR 30 lakhs. But it was young leggie Rashid Khan, who made the news as Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers camp bid heavily for him. He was eventually roped in by the Sunrisers for INR 4 crore – close to 8 times his base price.  A player from the UAE, Chirag Suri, was also bought by the Gujarat Lions for his base price of INR 30 Lakhs.