India opener K L Rahul and middle-order batsman Manish Pandey bagged bumper deals at the Indian Premier League Player Auction on Saturday. Kings XI Punjab and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) were involved in a bidding war for Rahul, with the former acquiring his services at Rs 10.5 crore after Royal Challengers Bangalore did not use their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain him. Interestingly, Pandey was bought by SRH at the exact same price to equal Rahul as the most expensive Indian at this year's auction until then. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), after several discussions, opted not to use the RTM card to retain the stylish right-hander.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) opted not to use to Right to Match (RTM) cards to retain star left-handers Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh respectively at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Bengaluru. Kings XI Punjab acquired the services of Yuvraj at his base price of Rs 2 crore after no other franchise showed any interest in the World Cup winner. Gambhir, who led Kolkata to two IPL titles, was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for Rs. 2.80 crore after KXIP stopped bidding at Rs 2.60 crore.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes and Australia pacer Mitchell Starc were picked up by Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IPL Player Auction today. Rajasthan bagged Stokes for Rs 12.50 crore with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) dropping out of the race to sign him. Starc, sold to Kolkata for Rs 9.40 crore, was also on KXIP's radar. However, the Punjab franchise decided not to pursue the player after their final bid of Rs. 9.20 crore.