Kings XI Punjab co-owner Priety Zinta IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary and Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman during a press conference at the side line of the IPL auction 2018 in Bengaluru on Saturday. | PTI
BENGALURU: Considering the expectations that came in tow with it, the first day of the IPL auction managed to live up to that billing, culminating in what can only be deemed as a roller-coaster ride.
There were misses, indeed. Some were highlighted by the lulls from franchises that followed Richard Madley's naming of Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga (base prices of Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively).
The same held true for debutant Joe Root true, with no paddles going up at the mention of the English skipper's name (owing perhaps to the doubts regarding the availability of the country's players). India too had its share of the same, with Parthiv Patel and Ishant Sharma getting a cold shoulder on Saturday, apart from a predicted bidding war for Gautam Gambhir -- as a potential skipper -- fizzling out quite prematurely (2.8 crore to Delhi Daredevils).
But, how can the trajectory of a roller-coaster ride be created with all troughs and no crests? The event saw its share of highs, too. A chunk of them, so to speak.
It began with Ravichandran Ashwin becoming the first million-dollar baby of the day (Rs 7.6 crore); albeit by making a northward journey to the Kings XI Punjab, as compared to the southward sojourn that Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni had alluded to a few days ago. Perhaps to convert that into a bit of a cultural exchange -- attested to by quips from IPL governing chairman Rajeev Shukla and Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta during one of the press conferences held on the day -- Harbhajan Singh was paid Rs 2 crore to embark on an expedition towards the Indian Ocean, at the end of which hung a bright yellow jersey.
The Right-to-Match option was akin to the judders of a roller-coaster, interrupting the frenetic shopping spree that Punjab were intent on completing, and also infusing suspense into the eventual pulling of rugs from under the feet of potential bidders for sought-after tweakers Rashid Khan (Rs 9 crore), Yuzvvendra Chahal (Rs 6 crore), and Kuldeep Yadav (Rs 5.8 crore).
Much like the beginning of the drop from the top point of a roller-coaster ride, this event too had an analogous exaggerated point of inflection. That was Ben Stokes.
His affray charge in the Bristol brawl incident notwithstanding, the ginger-headed titan made it to the event's summit of money second time in a row, this time enlisted by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crore.
The joy-filled shrieks on such rides were substituted by murmurs of happiness at the venue after young turks Prithvi Shaw (Delhi, Rs 1.2 crore), Kamlesh Nagarkoti (Kolkata Knight Riders 3.2 crore), Shubman Gill (Kolkata, Rs 1.8 crore) and Ishan Kishan (Rs 6.2 crore, Mumbai Indians) leapfrogged their relatively miniscule base-prices.
A few seniors like KL Rahul (Punjab, Rs 11 crore), Manish Pandey (Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rs 11 crore), Sanju Samson (Rajasthan, Rs 8 crore) and Kedar Jadhav (Rs 7.8 crore) elicited the same. So did uncapped men like Krunal Pandya (Rs 8.8 crore, Mumbai Indians) Rahul Tripathi (Rs 3.4 crore, Rajasthan), and Vijay Shankar (Rs 3.2 crore, Delhi).
In short, Day 1 ended like a roller-coaster ride, leaving with it the promise of Day 2 following on the same lines.
