India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will no longer be part of the CSK franchise for this season at least. In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Bengaluru on Saturday, he was taken by Punjab for Rs 7.6 crore.
The star off-spinner, who had started with a base price of Rs 2 crore, was not retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the auction.
Punjab beat off bidding from Chennai and Rajasthan before sealing the deal.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan went to Chennai for his base price of Rs 2 crore as there were no other takers.
Punjab had also initially won the bidding war for Dwayne Bravo who had a base price of Rs 2 crore.
The Mohali based franchise initially seemed to have taken the West Indies all-rounder at Rs 6.4 crore, but Chennai exercised their right to match and snapped up the player at the same price.
Meanwhile, Australians Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc, England pacer Ben Stokes were sold for hefty prices at the IPL auction here on Saturday.
Maxwell started at a base price of Rs 2 crore and sparked a bidding war between Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before the Delhi Daredevils made a late bid to snap him up for Rs 9 crore.
Starc was also at the centre of some hot competition between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. Kolkata eventually snapped up the Australian pace spearhead for a whopping Rs 9.4 crore.
Shikhar Dhawan, Kieron Pollard, Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis were meanwhile brought back by their respective teams using the option of right to match.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan started at a base price of Rs 1 crore and went for double that amount to Hyderabad after a short tussle with Rajasthan and Kolkata.
Gautam Gambhir went to Delhi for Rs 2.8 crore. Yuvraj meanwhile, was taken by Punjab at his base price of Rs 2 crore as there were no other bidders.
IPL Auction.. Csk Doing Some Great job.. But They Missed #Ashwin #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/rGNVGe12cc
— Shrikant (@shrikant_star_) January 27, 2018
Vivo #IPLAuction #IPLAuction2018 ....iam happy that #CSK retained #Dwaynebravo at least after leaving #Ashwin...#Yellows will miss you #Ashwin
— Abdullah Usman (@meetabdul29786) January 27, 2018
With #CSK letting go of #Ashwin, its clear that the skipper and the offie are not on best terms.
— Nagaraj (@rajuvijai) January 27, 2018
Chennai thrives on local sentiment and Ash not staying there is no whistle podu...#IPLAuction
Sad to miss @ashwinravi99 in yellow colour....:(.. but hoping kings xi will make him a captain. Great mind..all the best #Ashwin #IPLAuction
— N Bharanidharan (@bharathnryn) January 27, 2018
Bad luck for @ashwinravi99 & @ChennaiIPL !! #CSK will miss u #Ashwin
— Yuvraj Arun Kumar (@yuvrajarunkumar) January 27, 2018
that 1st over bowling attack from ash #IPLAuction #IPLAuction2018
It would be super weird to not see @ashwinravi99 in @ChennaiIPL's yellow again. Will miss you, #Ashwin! #IPLAuction
— Bhavya Venkatesh (@bhavyavenkatesh) January 27, 2018
Is #Ashwin deliberately omitted? Perhaps CSK will feel the pinch when the matches are on. The expected crowd in Chennai may not turn up, i guess.
— R.Kasthuri Rengan (@RKayR) January 27, 2018