Bhuvneshvar Kumar starred in the capped bowlers list on the second day of the IPL mega auction on Monday with the right-arm seamer heading to Royal Challengers Bengaluru at a whopping Rs 10.75 crore, while Deepak Chahar was acquired by Mumbai Indians for Rs 9.25 crore at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah.
Meanwhile, there were no takers for a number of stars, including New Zealand’s former skipper Kane Williamson, Australian stars Steven Smith and David Warner, and a host of Indians in Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Shardul Thakur and Devdutt Padikkal among others, in the first round.
Despite dropping his price, Shaw, the Mumbai opener failed to attract any bids in the mega auction. Shaw has been associated with Delhi Capitals since 2018, when the franchise purchased him for Rs 1.2 crore. The Capitals did not retain him ahead of the auction. Similarly, his other Mumbai teammates in Rahane, Sarfaraz and Shardul also failed to attract any attention from the 10 franchises.
In contrast, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the India discard, who listed himself at a base price of Rs 2 crore, found himself in an intense bidding bar between MI and LSG, and when it seemed Mumbai were about to secure his services at Rs 10.50 crore, RCB entered the fray and snatched his services at Rs 10.75 crore.
Bhuvneshwar began his IPL journey in 2009 with RCB but didn’t play in his first two seasons before moving to the now-defunct Pune Warriors. After three seasons with the side, he secured a move to Sunrisers Hyderabad where he went on to represent the team for a decade and became the side’s all-time leading wicket-taker. He has played 176 matches and has 181 scalps to his name in the league.
Mumbai Indians solidified an already fiery bowling attack, having retained Jasprit Bumrah and bought Trent Boult on Day 1, with the acquisition of Deepak Chahar for Rs 9.25 crore. The 32-year-old has played 81 games and claimed 77 wickets to his name. He entered the auction at a base price of Rs 2 crore and despite CSK’s best attempts to buy him once again, MI prevailed in the bidding war.
In another move, Akash Deep, the former RCB fast bowler, was sold to Lucknow SuperGiants for Rs 8 crore. He was highly sought after as PBKS, CSK and LSG tussled for his services, which started at a base price of Rs 1 crore before LSG prevailed on the bidding table.
Tushar Deshpande was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 6.50 crore. The pacer, who represented the Chennai Super Kings in the previous two seasons, has played 36 games and taken 42 wickets in the league so far.
Delhi Capitals exercised their Right to Match (RTM) option and retained the services of Mukesh Kumar for Rs 8 crore who has represented the team for the past two seasons. Punjab Kings had originally won the bidding war for the 31-year-old but DC had the final say to bring him on board.
South African pacer Gerald Coetzee, who represented the Mumbai Indians in the 2024 season, was sold to the Gujarat Titans for Rs 2.40 crore. New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was sold to Punjab Kings at his base price of Rs 2 crore.
Punjab Kings secured a move for South African hard-hitting all-rounder Marco Jansen, while Krunal Pandya found a new home with RCB. Washington Sundar, who is currently involved in India’s ongoing Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, was acquired by Gujarat Titans for Rs 3.2 crore. Former Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Nitish Rana found his new home with the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4.20 crore.