Gayle third time lucky, Unadkat and Tye become IPL millionaires

Monday, 29 January 2018 00:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

New Delhi (Reuters): Twenty20 freelancer Chris Gayle found a team at the third time of asking while seam bowlers Jaydev Unadkat and Andrew Tye earned big on the second and final day of the player auction ahead of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.

West Indian Gayle went unsold in two rounds with none of the eight franchises looking interested in the swashbuckling left-hander whose five centuries in IPL is the most by any batsman.

It was in the third round that Kings XI Punjab bought Gayle, the IPL’s leading six-hitter, at his base price of INR 20 million ($ 314,613).

Unadkat emerged as the most expensive Indian buy from the two-day auction when the 26-year-old was sold to Rajasthan Royals for INR 115 million.

Australian Tye, who has played four one-day internationals, also earned big money with Kings XI Punjab buying him for Rs. 72 million.

Rajasthan bought all-rounder Ben Stokes for $ 1.97 million on Saturday, while also adding his England teammate and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler to their squad.

Sandeep Lamichhane became the first player from Nepal to land an IPL deal when the 17-year-old was picked by Delhi Daredevils for Rs. 2 million. The 11th edition of the Twenty20 tournament begins in Mumbai on 7 April.

Akila, Dushmantha only Lankan picks for IPL 2018

Only Akila Danjjaya and Dushmantha Chameera were in demand for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

When the two-day auctions concluded yesterday, Dananjaya was secured by Mumbai Indians for $ 78,000 or 50 lakhs. Mumbai Indians coach is Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardena. Rajasthan Royals got Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera also for the same price.

The unsold Sri Lankans were Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella and veteran Lasith Malinga. Other international payers unsold included Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Nathan Lyon, Corey Anderson, Travis Head, Lendl Simmons, Shaun Marsh, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales, Hashim Amla, Martin Guptill, James Faulkner, Jonny Bairstow and Josh Hazlewood.