Indian pacers hog limelight on Day 2 of auction

Compared to the action-packed proceedings of the opening days when marquee names are up for grabs at IPL auctions with the teams having a big purse to splurge, the second day is usually low key with the interest mainly on who will be the next unknown name to hit the jackpot.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

The record for the most expensive player was broken twice on Sunday in the IPL auction, but proceedings on Day 2 in the mega auction at Jeddah too had its moments.

The big surprise of the day came late when 13-year-old Bihar batter, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, was picked for ₹1.1 crore by Rajasthan Royals, after a bidding war with Delhi Capitals for the youngster with a base price of ₹30 lakh.

Otherwise, franchises weren't in the mood to up their paddles when the auction resumed on the second afternoon. Except for Suryavanshi, batters were not the story of the day, though the capped batters were the first to go under the hammer. Proven names like Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Phillips, Rovman Powell, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Kane Williamson had hardly any takers. Most went unsold in the first round.

The action truly picked up when the set of capped fast bowlers came up. It was clear that everyone was holding their money for the India pace tribe, resulting in the most exciting period of bidding. Tushar Deshpande's name came up first and Chennai Super Kings set the tone by coming in at 1 crore. He has been CSK's standout bowler for the last two seasons.