Wicketkeepers were not exactly the order of the day, while the bowlers went for some serious money in another interesting phase of the IPL 7 auction in Bangalore.
Below is a summary and list of the players that were auctioned during this phase.
Wicketkeepers:
Naman Ojha: Unsold
Quinton De Kock: Kings XI and Delhi Daredevils went back and forth before Delhi got their wicketkeeper/batsman at Rs 3.5 crore.
Wriddhiman Saha: The Sunrisers take a punt, but the player goes to Kings XI Punjab from a base price of Rs 1 crore to Rs 2.2 crore.
Parthiv Patel: RCB started the bidding at Rs 1 crore, with Mumbai Indians joining in. The bid went up just a couple more rungs, with RCB getting their wicketkeeper at Rs 1.4 crore.
Matthew Wade: No takers there, not too surprisingly with the Aussie international going unsold.
Craig Kieswetter: The bids did not pour in for the England wicketkeeper either, with another name going into the unsold column.
Kusal Perera: A bid of Rs 50 lakh was not forthcoming from any of the IPL teams, with the Sri Lankan becoming the third straight player to go unsold.
All-rounders:
Steven Smith: KKR opened the bidding at Rs 2 crore for the Australian tyro, with the Rajasthan Royals deciding to take the player on as well. Smith has the ability to win a match on his own, with his fielding prowess also there for everyone to see. The fact that the youngster can turn his arm over also does not hurt him, and it was not surprising that the bidding went all the way up to Rs 4 crore, with the Royals bagging a potentially match-changing player in the T20 format.
Yusuf Pathan: One of the few Indian all-rounders of potential available; but then Yusuf has disappointed more often than not in recent seasons of the IPL. The Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to start the bidding at Rs 2 crore, only for the Mumbai Indians to get in on the act.
Too many questions exist, however, for the former India player, with the bidding process going only as far as Rs 3.25 crore. The Sunrisers, though, would not get their man, with KKR deciding to use their Right to Match card.
Thisara Perera: Kings XI opened the bid at Rs 50 lakh - surely too low for someone of Perera's calibre. So it was not alarming, when the bids went back and forth between Punjab and RCB, with the price going all the way up to Rs 1.6 crore - the Sri Lankan all-rounder going to Kings XI.
Albie Morkel: Delhi Daredevils and RCB took the bid up to Rs 2.4 crore from the base price of Rs 1.5 crore, with the latter adding a hard-hitting all-rounder to an already power-packed batting lineup.
David Hussey: Another player that perhaps a little surprisingly went unsold at the opening day of the auction. Hussey joining an illustrious list that includes the likes of Mahela Jayawardene and Ross Taylor to just name a few.
Angelo Mathews: There were no takers for the Sri Lankan skipper either.
Irfan Pathan: The second of the Pathan brothers, perennially injured, yet capable of turning the match around in the blink of an eye. Rajasthan Royals bid Rs 1.5 crore, with the Sunrisers deciding to take the price up a little - all the way to Rs 2.4 crore, 85 lakhs lesser than his older brother.
The Delhi Daredevils rejected the chance to match the bid, with the Sunrisers adding another all-rounder to their ranks, having already picked up Darren Sammy earlier on.
Tillakaratne Dilshan: No surprises in the bidding here, with the Sri Lankan opener, whose powers have been seriously on the wane of late, going unsold.
Azhar Mahmood: The only Pakistani player in the list - available for the auction due to his England citizenship - went unsold.
Shakib Al Hasan: KKR and Delhi Daredevils fought tooth and nail for the Bangladesh all-rounder, with the former getting their man at Rs 2.8 crore - a big rise from the base price of Rs 1 crore.
Fast bowlers:
Mitchell Starc: Delhi Daredevils opened the bid at Rs 2 crore, with KKR saying "we want him, we want him." The Daredevils, though, gave that stare which said we are not letting him go, before Mallya jumped in to puncture Delhi's balloon - RCB picking up the You-miss-I-hit fast bowler for Rs 5 crore.
Ashok Dinda: RCB vs CSK - RCB win at Rs 1.5 crore.
Ishant Sharma: Like-it-or-not-I-will-only-bowl-length-deliveries pace bowler was not exactly coveted, with only the Sunrisers Hyderabad and RCB showing any real interest. The price went up from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2.6 crore, with the Sunrisers retaining their player from last season.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: The Sunrisers go for another Indian bowler, with KKR rivalling them, before the Delhi Daredevils came in for a piece of the action. SRH stayed firm and got the swing bowler for Rs 4.25 crore.
Mohammed Shami: Delhi Daredevils weathered the storm from KKR, before calling Kings XI Punjab's bluff to pick up the talented I-like-smashing-the-wickets pace bowler for Rs 4.25 crore.
Ravi Rampaul: The West Indian has the ability to pick up wickets in the T20 format, and RCB, as expected, went in for their former player, with KKR saying "not so soon Mr. Mallya, we want him too."
But, RCB wanted him more, with Rampaul going to the Bangalore franchise for Rs 90 lakh.
Umesh Yadav: CSK vs KKR - all the way from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2.2 crore. The Sunrisers stepped in after CSK dropped out, with the Kolkata Knight Riders taking Yadav for Rs 2.6 crore. The Daredevils decide not to match the bid, and Yadav is a KKR player.
Praveen Kumar: At a base price of Rs 2 crore, getting a bid was always going to be a tall order for the I-can't-stay-fit-or-keep-my-discipline bowler, and that proved to be the case with the player remaining unsold.
Vinay Kumar: KKR took on DD, with Vinay's home team RCB deciding not to take a punt due to their seriously reduced purse. Kolkata got the player for Rs 2.8 crore.
Morne Morkel: Dravid had that "please give him to me" look while bidding for Morne Morkel, with Mumbai Indians, first, and then KKR rivalling the Rajasthan Royals for the I'm-tall-and-pretty-good South African bowler. From a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, the bid went all the way up to Rs 2.8 crore, with KKR bagging the player after the Daredevils decided not to bring out the Joker into play.
Spinners:
Piyush Chawla: CSK looked for the leg-spinner, but Delhi outbid them before KKR took over the reins. An inflated price, perhaps, of Rs 4.25 crore was settled on with former Kings XI man going to KKR, after Punjab did not exercise their option to match.
Pragyan Ojha: Delhi make a go for the left-armer, with Mumbai Indians, the team that Ojha played for the last few seasons, rivalling the Daredevils. Delhi won the bidding at Rs 3.25 crore, with MI, after some serious consultation, deciding to use their lone Right to Match card.
Ajantha Mendis: A player whose powers have seriously tailed off, so expectedly the Sri Lankan no-so-much-a-mystery-now spinner went unsold.
Murali Kartik: There were no takers for the veteran left-arm spinner, either.
Nathan McCullum: The New Zealand off-spinner who can also tonk the ball a bit, a little interestingly, went unsold as well - the third straight spinner to do so.
Rahul Sharma: RCB vs Delhi Daredevils - from Rs 50 lakh all the way to Rs 1.9 crore, sold to DD.
Robin Peterson: Not much interest on the first day for the South African left-arm offie, and unsold he remained.
Mutthiah Muralitharan: He might be one of the greatest spinners this sport has ever seen, but at a base price of Rs 1 crore, there just was only one team - RCB - who decided to bring back the Sri Lankan legend.
Find the marquee players pool one list HERE.
The pool two list is available HERE.
