The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction was held in Bengaluru over two days in February. With the addition of two teams – the Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans – for the upcoming season, a total of 10 teams took part in the bidding process. The 10 franchises spent approximately a combined amount of ₹5.52 billion during the auction. A total of 204 players were sold, with 67 of them being overseas cricketers.
Young wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was the most expensive buy at the IPL 2022 Auction. He was brought back by the Mumbai Indians for ₹15.25 crore. Deepak Chahar was also sold to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹14 crore, while Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) picked up Shreyas Iyer for ₹12.25 crore. England all-rounder Liam Livingstone was the most expensive overseas purchase. He was picked up by the Punjab Kings for ₹11.50 crore.
IPL 2022: When franchises got it horribly wrong at the auction
Over the years, there have been some brilliant moves made at the IPL auction and some disastrous ones as well. In this feature, we look at five massive auction blunders.
#1 KKR losing Rohit Sharma to MI
Rohit Sharma’s name has been synonymous with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL. However, he was with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC) for the first three seasons. In 2011, he was back in the auction pool. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and MI were involved in an intense bidding war for the talented batter.
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In the end, KKR gave up and MI acquired Rohit’s services for $2 million (back then buys were mentioned in USD). The rest, as they say, is history. Rohit has gone on to become the most successful captain in the IPL. He has turned around MI’s fortunes in incredible fashion, leading them to five titles. In hindsight, KKR committed perhaps the biggest blunder in the IPL auction.
#2 RR going for Jaydev Unadkat once too often
After an excellent season for the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in IPL 2017, when he claimed 24 wickets in 12 matches, Rajasthan Royals (RR) purchased left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat for ₹11.5 crore in 2018. Given his success, it was an understandable move. However, Unadkat had a poor season and managed only 11 wickets in 15 matches at an economy rate of 9.65.
Rather surprisingly, though, RR once again purchased the left-arm at the auction for IPL 2019, this time shelling out ₹8.4 crore for him. Unadkat fared even worse this season, claiming only 10 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 10.66. RR’s decision to buy back Unadkat cost the franchise dearly.
#3 RR signing Chris Morris for a record ₹16.25 crore
RR have a habit of making some bizarre purchases for exorbitant sums. Paying ₹16.25 crore to purchase South African all-rounder Chris Morris should rank at the top of their list. The move made Morris the most expensive purchase ever at an IPL auction.
Morris, who retired from all forms of the game at the start of the year, was a decent all-rounder. However, with all due respect to him, he was no Ben Stokes or Jacques Kallis. Hence, it was puzzling that RR shelled out such a big chunk of their purse for him.
Given the salary he drew, Morris had an average IPL 2021 season, picking up 15 wickets at an economy rate of 9.17 and scoring only 67 runs. Sensibly, RR released him ahead of the mega auction.
#4 Delhi signing Pawan Negi for ₹8.5 crore
In 2016, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) signed all-rounder Pawan Negi for ₹8.5 crore, making him the most expensive Indian player back then. However, it was a move Delhi were to regret as Negi had a horror run in the edition.
He played eight matches but managed only 57 runs at a strike rate of under 100. On the bowling front, he had only one wicket to show for his efforts at an average of 84 and an economy rate of 9.33. Negi hasn’t played an IPL game since 2019.
#5 RCB spend ₹12 crore for Tymal Mills in 2017
England’s left-arm seamer Tymal Mills has been impressive for the national team in the T20 format in recent times. In fact, he was doing a good job in the T20 World Cup as well until being ruled out due to injury.
Back in 2017, though, he was relatively raw and didn’t boast a spectacular record. Still, RCB picked him up at the auction for a massive amount of ₹12 crore. Mills played only five matches during the 2017 edition of the IPL, picking up only five wickets at an economy rate of 8.58.
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