When it comes to the business of cricket, there is nothing that comes close to the IPL mega-auction, and this time around, the IPL Auction 2022 is bigger than anything thrown up so far. For one, the number of franchises has gone up from eight to ten, while the prize purses too have been hiked.
Even before the hammer falls on even one name, many of the big guns have already been snared for big bucks, including one record-equalling deal. So, when the fun and games begin in Bengaluru on February 12, sit back and enjoy the show, since this is going to be something else.
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A total of 1214 players had initially thrown their hats into the bidding arena and the number was subsequently whittled down to 590 – 370 Indian and 220 overseas players.
Amongst these, 48 players have put their reserve price at Rs 2 crore each, though some of them are quite optimistic and getting anything above their base price would be quite a bonus for them.
As for the frontline Indian players who are integral to the Indian colours would be expecting to be picked up well above their base prices.
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The franchises have a total of Rs 561.50 crore left to spend, with franchises like Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals – those that had an unhappy 2021 or before – have reserved the largest purses for the actual auction, with Rs 72 crore, 68 crore and 62 crore respectively. Needless to say, they will really be going hammer and tongs when the bidding starts.
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Record price
The other franchises have already spent quite a bit, not least the Lucknow Super Giants, one of the two new inductees, who spent Rs 17 crore on KL Rahul alone, a figure that equals the amount paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore to retain Virat Kohli in 2018.
Gujarat Titans, so named recently, have put their faith in Hardik Pandya as skipper and have invested Rs 15 crores on him. Rashid Khan too has drawn an equal amount from the franchise.
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Marquee Players
The Board of Control for Cricket in India had named 10 marquee players for the IPL 2022 Auction – Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Trent Boult (New Zealand), Pat Cummins (Australia), Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Quinton de Kock (South Africa), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) and David Warner (Australia), all with base prices of Rs 2 crore each.
So, it’s quite a party that will get underway in Bengaluru on Saturday, with the entire cricketing world looking out with interest. Some surprises are sure to come, as they do in every auction. Sit back and watch the fun.
