Top 10 Most expensive players bought in the IPL 2016 auction

The much awaited IPL 2016 auction went underway and the teams zeroed in on all the players they wanted, to set their combinations right for the extravaganza. The surprise omissions saw Martin Guptill, George Bailey and Darren Sammy miss out on the bids and some key selections saw rookies like Carlos Brathwaite, Krunal Pandya and Nathu Singh fetch the big bucks. The auction, on the whole, was a mixed bag of new selections and some key buys. Here are the most expensive players that were bought in the IPL 2016 auction. 10. Sanju Samson – DD (4.2 crores): Sanju Samson-Rishabh Pant. (Photo Source: BCCI) Sanju Samson made his mark in the IPL with consistent performances for the Rajasthan Royals in the previous editions of the IPL. His decent show over the years meant Delhi Daredevils didn’t hesitate much before paying INR 4.2 crores for his services. Samson who is a good wicketkeeper also has the ability to play the anchor role as well as that of a pinch hitter with the bat. It makes him a smart buy by the DD. He had the base price of 2 crores and would be pleased with the amount that he bagged. 9. Deepak Hooda – SRH (4.2 crores): Deepak Hooda. (Photo Source: BCCI) The swashbuckling see-ball-hit-ball batsman Deepak Hooda was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL 2016 auctions for a huge sum of 4.2 crores. Hooda has the reputation of hitting the ball right from the word go and glimpses of his hard hitting capabilities were at display last year when he played for the Rajasthan Royals. He also bowls part-time off-spin which shall aid the cause of the SRH bowling unit dominated by pacers. 8. Murugan Ashwin – RPS (4.5 crores): (Photo Source: Twitter) Perhaps the biggest gainer of the auction, M Ashwin must be a happy man. Having a base price of 10 lakhs, he fetched a deal 45 times of his original price, to bag 4.5 crores at the auction. Although Murugan Ashwin has only 3 first-class games under his belt, his recent good show at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy fetched him the big amount. Having played in 6 T20s in the tournament, and picked 10 wickets at a highly impressive economy of mere 5.52. He was picked by the Rising Pune Supergiants. Who is Murugan Ashwin? – 11 Interesting facts about Murugan Ashwin 7. Mitchell Marsh – RPS (4.8 crores): Mitchell Marsh. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Aussie all-rounder has returned to Pune franchise, under a different name this year though. One of the highly rated young players, Marsh was sought by KXIP, who already have his elder brother Shaun Marsh, but it was Pune franchise that shed 4.8 crores for his services. Marsh has the best bowling figure of 4/6 in T20s and is handy with the bat too as he packs a punch at a strike rate over 120. 6. Ashish Nehra – SRH (5.5 crores): Ashish Nehra CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) The 36-year-old pace bowler who shot to fame yet again last year while playing in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings attracted a lot of bidders too. Nehra was among the wickets last year and was key to CSK’s successful run in the tournament. SRH got their man after Kings XI and Gujarat Lions showed initial interest bidding first. Nehra must certainly be a pleased man for getting a high pay and also being selected in the Indian squad for the World T20. 5. Mohit Sharma – KXIP (6.5 crores): Mohit Sharma. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Indian pacer who has been out of the national side due to injury got great attention at the auction. Mohit Sharma had a base price of 1.5 crores and Kolkata and Punjab had an intense bidding for him before KXIP made him their first buy of the auction. Mohit has been phenomenal death bowler for CSK in the previous editions of the IPL and would be interesting to see how he fares in the new outfit. He has 74 wickets in 65 T20 matches to his name so far. 4. Chris Morris – DD (7 crores): Chris Morris. (Photo Source: BCCI) The South African paceman had a disappointing start to the day as he was dropped from the South Africa ODI squad but must have rejoiced later as he bagged a deal worth 7 crores. With a base price of 50 lakhs, he wouldn’t have expected a deal close to 14 times the original price. Mumbai and Pune looked quite interest in buying him and started the bidding before he was picked up by the Daredevils for 7 crores. 3. Yuvraj Singh – SRH (7 crores): Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Yuvraj Singh Facebook Page) The stylish left-handed batsman Yuvraj Singh was expected to be one of the top buys at this season auction and he certainly didn’t disappoint. The all-rounder who has the record for hitting 6 sixes in an over in T20Is was based at 2 crores. Yuvraj has been known to fetch big bucks at the auctions, having fetched 14 crores in 2014 and 16 crores in 2016. His price did come down this year but was a top buy nevertheless as Sunrisers roped him for 7 crores. 2. Pawan Negi – DD (8.5 crores): Pawan Negi CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) The rookie Indian all-rounder was the highest uncapped bid in the auction and the most expensive Indian player. Negi, who is a handy lower middle-order batsman and a wicket-taking spinner, was with the Super Kings who had bought him for a base price of 10 lakhs in the previous edition, but this year he got a whopping 8.5 crores contract. Negi had the base price of 30 lakhs and the Delhi Daredevils were eager on spending a lot from their purse to get the local boy to play for them. Who is this new million dollar baby of the IPL? – 7 facts about Pawan Negi 1. Shane Watson – RCB (9.5 crores): Shane Watson. (Photo Source: BCCI) The Australian all-rounder who recently hit the second highest individual score in T20 internationals was the most sought after player at the auction. Listed at a base price of 2 crores, Watson was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 9.5 crores and was the most expensive player in the 2016 auction. The former Rajasthan Royals skipper was in contention to be bought by Pune, Mumbai and the RCB. While Pune started the bidding, it was RCB that ultimately fetched the veteran Aussie all-rounder.