Pawan Negi bagged headlines in IPL 2016 auction with a whopping deal, which saw him become the costliest buy, as Delhi Daredevils bought him for Rs 8.5 crore. The all-rounder will be back in the IPL 2017 auction as he was released by his IPL franchise, and one does not see the player getting another such mega deal in the upcoming IPL 2017 auction.
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There was a bidding war amongst some teams, which saw his price rise to Rs 8.5 cr from Rs 30 lakh. Delhi Daredevils finally snapped the player for massive money, and made heads turn as well. TA Sekhar, who is part of DD management setup, explained as to how they entered into the bidding war for Negi and franchise has not made any decision if they are to bid for him, again.
"A lot depends on how desperate teams are. During last auction, two or three teams went for Negi and MS Dhoni also wanted him for Pune. Mumbai wanted him and we too needed him. Thus we entered the bidding process from Rs 5 crore. This time we haven't decided anything about Negi and we will think of it only during the auction," The Times of India quoted Sekhar saying.
After shelling out massive money for Negi, what surprised most was that the player did not feature in all their matches and were benched in some. The all-rounder also did not do justice to the price tag, scoring 57 runs and picking up one wicket in his eight matches.
Looking at his unimpressive record last year, franchises will not throw in huge money to get the player. Though Negi might land major deal, he could be on the radar of some IPL teams in the auction, which is scheduled to take place on February 20. Negi's base price for the IPL 2017 auction stands at Rs 30 lakh and Sekhar believes he should get Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 cr deal.
"I feel there will be a rally with Negi at Rs 30 lakh. Two-three teams could be interested. Somebody has to open the bid. I'm sure, he will get picked. He may not go for the same Rs 8.5 crore, but may be for Rs 1.5 or Rs 2 crore," Sekhar said.
