Manish Tewari shows his disappointment for the IPL Auction

After ten years, it was for the first time that all the players went back into the pool for open bidding. This year’s IPL Auction extravaganza kicked off in prime fashion, as Shikhar Dhawan was up for grabs first in the auctions, with Sunrisers Hyderabad using their RTM to retain the left-handed opener.

However, at the end of the day, not everyone was happy with the sound of ‘sold’. While the players expressed their delight in getting the opportunity to play for franchises at a high sum, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted that such auctions used to take place at “barbaric ages”.

“Is an auction of human beings (read IPL Players) a good idea? Auction of humans used to take place in barbaric ages. Can’t there be a more dignified method of evaluating skill and talent?” posted the Congress leader on the micro-blogging site.

Is an auction of human beings( read IPL Players) a good idea? Auction of humans used to take place in barbaric ages. Can’t there be a more dignified method of evaluating skill and talent?

— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 27, 2018

Who were the winners and losers from Day 1:

Ben Stokes got the highest price on Day 1, as the returning Rajasthan Royals went hard head-to-head with other franchises in acquiring the services of the 2017 IPL Most Valuable player at 12.5 crores.

However, it was the Indian players who had a field day as KL Rahul and Manish Pandey ended up tied as the second highest paid players at the end of Day 1 of the IPL auctions. The Kings XI Punjab bought KL Rahul at a price of 11 crores, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to get Manish Pandey at 11 crores with KKR not using their RTM for their former player.

On the other hand, the big Jamaican opener Chris Gayle went unsold at a base price of 2 crores, while England’s Joe Root too ended up on the same boat with a base price of 1.5 crores. However, the most shocking event was the Indian opener, Murali Vijay, ending up unsold at two crores while KL Rahul went for handsome price.

Karun Nair went for 5.6 crores to the Kings XI Punjab as Mitchell Starc will wear the purple jersey of Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming edition of VIVO IPL.