All you need to know about the IPL auction 2022. With the addition of 2 new teams from the 2022 edition of the IPL, Gujrat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, more than 600 players were up for grabs in the mega auction.
The most expensive buy of the day was the southpaw wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan who went to the Mumbai Indians for a staggering ₹ 15.25 crores. English batsman Liam Livingstone was the most expensive overseas player sold in the 2022 auction as Punjab Kings (PBKS) shelled ₹ 11.5 to add him to their franchise.
Auctioneer Hugh Edmeades suffered a fall midway through the first day of the auction but later returned on the second day of the auction to complete the second leg on Sunday. Former commentator and businessman Charu Sharma took his place meanwhile and did a great job of temporarily replacing the veteran auctioneer.
The IPL auction 2022 also saw the greatest number of players being sold for ₹ 10 crores or more as eleven players joined the 10 crores+ clubs. Indian cricketers were in high demand, with India accounting for seven of the top eleven most expensive players. Pacer Deepak Chahar became the first player for whom Chennai Super Kings had spent more than ₹ 10 crores as they pulled out ₹ 14 crores out of their purse to get him. It was of particular surprise to cricket enthusiasts that MI spent ₹ 8 crores on Jofra Archer as the fast bowler won’t be available in the 2022 edition of the IPL due to an elbow injury. Right-arm fast pacer Avesh Khan became the most expensive uncapped player in the history of IPL as the new franchise from Lucknow spent ₹ 10 crores on the player hailing from Madhya Pradesh.
With speculations that this might be the last “mega auction” in a while, all franchises prioritized long-term plans and compromised on a few experienced but aging cricketers. Suresh Raina, affectionately known as Mr. IPL by his supporters went unsold in the IPL auction 2022 as curtains fell on his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings. On the flipside, budding cricketers from the U-19 World Cup-winning team were hot picks for the franchises looking to nurture young talent. Raj Angad Bawa and Rajyavardhan Hangarekar were acquired by PBKS and CSK for ₹ 2 crores and ₹ 1.5 crores respectively. All-rounders Yash Dhull and Vicky Ostwal were other members of the squad sold in the auction as both joined the Delhi Capitals. Arjun Tendulkar, the little maestro’s son went to his father’s former franchise as he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for ₹ 30 crores.
The IPL auction 2022 was a great success overall for the organizers if not for some franchises. Fans would be looking forward to watching the teams get the players out on the field and see if they made the right decisions during the auction. IPL 2022 will have 10 teams from around India take on each other over 74 matches with the first match being played on 2nd April 2022 in Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
