NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Twenty20 freelance 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, IPL’s leading six-hitter, at his base price of 20 million Indian rupees ($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 115 million rupees.
Australian Tye, who has played four one-day internationals, also earned big money with Kings XI Punjab buying him for 72 million rupees.
The nature of the format means while the lesser known pacers were in demand, South African stalwart Dale Steyn did not find a team.
England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan suffered the fate of test captain Joe Root after going unsold in the auction.
Rajasthan bought all-rounder Ben Stokes for $1.97 million on Saturday, while also adding his England team mate 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 two million rupees.
The 11th edition of the Twenty20 tournament begins in Mumbai on April 7.
