Eight franchises ready to spend big bucks for IPL 2018

The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is here with eight franchises ready to spend big bucks for T20 cricket superstars from around the world. From superstars Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin to new-comers like Prithvi Shaw, the players would hope to get picked in the richest cricket tournament in the world. The re-entry of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals after two years has made the proceedings even more interesting, some of the live updates are here by time to time

10:38 hrs IST: Mitchell Starc is up next. Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders have bid intensely for him.

10:37 hrs IST: Ajinkya Rahane’s bid of Rs 4 crore by Kings XI Punjab has been right to matched by Rajasthan Royals. He will play for them in the 2018 IPL.

10:35 hrs IST: Ajinkya Rahane is next and Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians have bid him.

10:33 hrs IST: Faf du Plessis’ bid opened by Chennai Super Kings. Kings XI Punjab have gotten him.But, CSK have used Right to Match. Faf du Plessis will play for Chennai Super Kings for Rs 1.6 crore.

10:32 hrs IST: Ben Stokes will play for Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crore. First 10 crore player in the 2018 IPL Auction. 

10:31 hrs IST: Rajasthan Royals have entered the fray suddenly. Stokes is breaking all records again.

10:28 hrs IST: KKR have jumped into the fray. KXIP are raising the stakes.

10:27 hrs IST: Ben Stokes is up next. Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab are in an intense war.

10:26 hrs IST: Chris Gayle, the leading run-getter in T20s, goes unsold.

10:24 hrs IST: Kieron Pollard was bid for Rs 5.4 crore, but Mumbai Indians used the Right to Match and got Kieron Pollard for that price. Kieron Pollard goes to Mumbai Indians.

10:22 hrs IST: Kieron Pollard is next. Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians are in an intense bidding war.

10:21 hrs IST: Ravichandran Ashwin will play for Kings XI Punjab for a price of Rs 7.6 crore.

10:18 hrs IST: Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab are really going for it.

10:17 hrs IST: R Ashwin is up next. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals have opened the bidding. Chennai Super Kings are out.

10:16 hrs IST: Shikhar Dhawan gets RTM from Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 5.2 crore.

10:13 hrs IST: Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab are in a bidding war for Shikhar Dhawan.

10:12 hrs IST: Shikhar Dhawan is the first player to be drawn in the IPL Auction . Rajasthan Royals have begun the bid. Kings XI Punjab have jumped into the bid. The bid has gone to Rs 400 lakhs. Mumbai Indians are into the bid now.

10:09 hrs IST: Richard Madley announces that if any player goes unsold today, he will come up for auction tomorrow.

10:07 hrs IST: Amitabh Choudhary is making an announcement. RCA is back into the BCCI fold.

10:05 hrs IST: Rajeev Shukla, the IPL chairman, is welcoming Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

10:02 hrs IST: Rahul Johri is addressing the IPL Auction ceremony. Mumbai Indians are in blue. Akash Ambani in grey suit though, he is the boss. Virender Sehwag walks into the hall alone. Nita Amabani is also here, is expected any moment. Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta walk in. Nita Ambani is here, in all black. The shutterbugs are in action as she poses. Ricky Ponting, the new DD coach, also here for the auction. It’s all set for the auction, the biggest since the first one

10:00 hrs IST: Finally, after months of waiting, the IPL auction is all set to begin.

09:57 hrs IST: The first list of 16 players will be the Marquee 1 and Marquee 2. Right, the action is all set to start shortly.

09:54 hrs IST: We are just five minutes away from the auction beginning. The first slot of players will be the Marquee bunch of 16, which involves Ravichandran Ashwin, Ben Stokes, Yuvraj Singh, Faf du Plessis, Gautam Gambhir

09:47 hrs IST: Pravin Amre, who is part of the DD team, is all smiles. The reason is Ajinkya Rahane’s batting performance in Johannesburg. Yes, Amre had played a massive role in making Ajinkya Rahane as one of India’s most reliable overseas player for the Indian cricket team.

09:44 hrs IST: The man of the moment, Richard Madley, who will be conducting the auction has checked in. The entire BCCI brass walks in together into the hall, Diana Eduljee is part of the group. Kolkata Knight Riders finally make an appearance, Venky Mysore has just come down. Delhi Daredevils also come in.

09:42 hrs IST: They are in their original colours, yellow jackets. CSK are known to be the masters of the auction. Right from the first auction when VB Chandresekar led their strategy, they have mostly got the men they wanted. Will they manage Ravichandran Ashwin this time? Odds are against them. Experts say, CSK know what they are doing. They don’t try and hike the price for the sake of it, just go for the man they want

09:37 hrs IST: The CSK men are ready for the auction, Kasi Viswanathan, the veteran TNCA man is there along with George John, L Balaji.

09:35 hrs IST: Zinta makes an appearance, walks straight to the auction hall. Mahela Jayawardene , the Mumbai coach is here. Rajasthan Royals team walks in together, led by Manoj Badale

09:29 hrs IST: IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla is ready for the day as he walks into the lobby with his assistants. On Television, IPL’s auctioneer Richard Medley is taking us through the auction process. Remember, his hammer will decide the fate of the player and the franchise.

09:27 hrs IST: Sunrisers Hyderabad staff have arrived at the venue. VVS Laxman is here. Nehra and Vettori in a long discussion, should be surely about bowling than the auction. Maybe, they will also be discussing which bowlers to buy in RCB, as the team have perennially struggled with their bowling combination in all 10 editions of the tournament.

09:25 hrs IST: At last evening meeting, Akash Ambani, Preity Zinta, Delhi Daredevils owners were also present along with others. Ashish Nehra and Daniel Vettori are chatting in the lobby. Vettori, the former New Zealand spinner and current coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be the main man at the RCB table.

09:23 hrs IST: The auction room is fast filling up. Mumbai Indians group the first to be sighted, with Sundar Raman, TA Sekar moving around. COA Diana Eduljee is here. Last night the franchises workshop was held where they were briefed about the details of the auction. It was a routine meeting, CK Khanna said. There were reports that some franchises had raised objection to bringing in the uncapped players early in the auction, but the issue was not raised at the meeting, the BCCI president said. The teams were asked to submit a list of 20 uncapped players who are listed from 180 onwards, reports Sanjjeev

09:14 hrs IST: Over the years, there have been soe players who have become the top draw in a particular IPL auction season. From MS Dhoni to Yuvraj Singh’s consecutive record-paying years to Andrew Symonds and Ben Stokes, the IPL Auction throws up some big money for some players. Here is a list of all top Indian and international buys from the auction.

09:04 hrs IST: The auction will start with the bidding of 16 marquee players. The first list will have players like Ravichandran Ashwin. It will be an action packed start.

09:02 hrs IST: They say old is gold. In cricket, players aged above 35 ponder retirement. However, that is not the case in the IPL. In the past, players aged over 35 have gotten big money in the IPL Auctions. Here is N Ananthanarayanan explaining about 35-plus battle-hardened veterans in demand.

08:58 hrs IST: The Right to Match card will be a valuable tool for franchises when they have to bid for a player. Which franchise will choose their players via RTM? Want to know the rules? Here is the article that will explain to you the dynamics of the Right to Match card

08:52 hrs IST: There are marquee players who have a base price of Rs 2 crore who will be expected to fetch big sums. However, never count the U-19 players. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti have been putting on a great show in the U-19 Cricket World Cup. Also, it is important to note that players from Vidarbha, who won their maiden Ranji Trophy final, could also fetch big money. Watch out for names like Rajneesh Gurbani.

08:44 hrs IST: The IPL auction is different in 2018 as compared to the previous years. This is the first auction under a new broadcast deal. The mega IPL media rights deal with Star India has put them in such a great position. After accounting for every expense, team owners should still easily pocket Rs 100 crore plus as their central pool revenue share is expected to be around Rs 260 crore each. With serious money comes serious planning. With solid homework and experience, all franchisees, including Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals who are back after a two-year ban, say they are better prepared than ever, writes Sanjjeev K Samyal, who is our roving reporter at the auction.

08:40 hrs IST: A warm welcome to one and all for the mega IPL auction. 10 years ago, the IPL had its first huge auction. Now, 578 players, international and India, will go under the hammer. This year’s auction will feature 578 players in all with 361 from India. 

The top 16 players have been awarded marquee status with a base price of Rs 2 crore each. Notable among them are Stokes, Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle, and Dwayne Bravo. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals have maximum fund left after player retention – Rs 67.50 crore each. Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Dardevilsand Mumbai Indians have the minimum – Rs 47 crore each.