Green the envy, local talents shine

Aussie allrounder went to KKR for a record ₹25.2 crore. Kartik, Prashant the biggest home buys

- Rasesh Mandani

The IPL player auction has changed the lives of many players by introducing meritocracy through free market economics.

Add Karthik Sharma, the 19-year-old wicket-keeper batter from Rajasthan, and Prashant Veer, the 20-year-old leftarm spin allrounder from Uttar Pradesh, to that list. Their big pay day - ₹ 14.2 crore each - at the mini auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday meant they will now play for Chennai Super Kings with MS Dhoni still in the squad.

It was another pulsating day of frenzied paddle wars, with Australian allrounder Cameron Green (₹25.2 crore) becoming the most expensive overseas buy. Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana (₹18 cr) was the next most expensive buy of the day, again picked up by KKR.

For CSK, once called the Dad's Army, this marked a tectonic shift in strategy. They went chasing youth from domestic cricket whom they had earmarked through scouting and trials. And it wasn't just CSK that did that.

The top 10 list of most expensive buys had three uncapped players. The third was J&K pacer Auqib Nabi, whose ₹8.4 crore IPL contract may spark further interest for cricket in the region after express pacer Umran Malik became a household name. Another uncapped bowler, Madhya Pradesh leftarmer Mangesh Yadav, was bought by RCB for ₹5.2 crore.