Eight franchises ready to spend big bucks for IPL 2018(Lead)

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, auction continuous like here

11:39 hrs IST: Kings XI Punjab have jumped into the fray at the last moment. We might have a first Indian in the 10 crore club

11:37 hrs IST: KL Rahul is up next. Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals are in an intense bidding war. Sunrisers Hyderabad are jumping into the fray. 

11:36 hrs IST: Karun Nair has been sold to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 5.6 crore.

11:32 hrs IST: Nair has been in superb form in the Ranji Trophy and in Syed Mushtaq Ali. Rajasthan Royals are in the bid now.

11:30 hrs IST: Karun Nair is the first in the specialist set of batsman. KKR have bid for him for the base price of Rs 50 lakh. Kings XI Punjab have jumped to the bid along with Mumbai Indians.

11:29 hrs IST: Rajasthan Royals: Ranjit Barthakur, CEO AND CHAIRMAN of RR The ECB has cleared Ben Stokes for the auctions and he is legally available so we bid for Stokes. We are like a start-up, starting again in the IPL, we don’t have lot many options to retain like other teams. Rahane is our blue blooded player and we wanted to retain him It is just beginning of the auction, we will come up with more surprises.

Venky Mysore: CEO KKR: For Starc: The conditions at the Eden Gardens have changed and we now have the bowling group, and they are players who can bat. For the Indian players, we knew the RTMs will be used and it has gone as expected.

11:26 hrs IST: Looks like Gambhir will be the Delhi Daredevils captain. KKR didn’t bid for him, neither use the RTM. Yes, this could be the boost Delhi Daredevils wanted

11:22 hrs IST: We have a five-minute break now. Joe Root going unsold is a bit of a surprise. Yuvraj Singh, the record buys of 2015 and 2016, has gone for Rs 2 crore. However, CSK and RR have bid brilliantly so far.

11:20 hrs IST: Yuvraj Singh is up next and Kings XI Punjab have bid for him. He will go to Kings XI Punjab for Rs 2 crore. SRH choose not to RTM him.

11:19 hrs IST: Joe Root goes unsold. 

11:18 hrs IST: Kane Williamson goes to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 3 crore. RCB opted out.

11:16 hrs IST: Kings XI Punjab had bid for Dwayne Bravo, but Chennai Super Kings have Right to Match and he will be back for the yellow jersey in 2018. Dwayne Bravo for CSK for Rs 6.4 crore.

11:13 hrs IST: Gautam Gambhir returns to Delhi Daredevils for Rs 2.8 crore. Kolkata Knight Riders, whom he helped to two titles, did not even bid for him.

11:10 hrs IST: Gautam Gambhir is up next. Rajasthan and Delhi have bid for them. Kings XI Punjab have jumped in to the bid now.

11:09 hrs IST: Sunrisers Hyderabad are out. Delhi Daredevils might get him. KXIP do not use the RTM and Glenn Maxwell will play for Delhi Daredevils for Rs 9 crore.

11:05 hrs IST: Royal Challengers Bangalore have bid for Glenn Maxwell. Delhi Daredevils have also jumped in. 

11:04 hrs IST: Glenn Maxwell is up next. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals are splashing the cash.

11:03 hrs IST: Shakib Al Hasan goes to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 2 crore.

11:02 hrs IST: Shakib Al Hasan bid for by Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

11:01 hrs IST: Harbhajan Singh will play for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018. Sold for his base price of Rs 2 crore. Irony. Ashwin, a Tamil boy goes to Punjab while Harbhajan, a Punjabi will play for Chennai.

10:59 hrs IST: The second set of marquee players is up. Harbhajan Singh is the first player in this set.

10:55 hrs IST: The 15-minute break is almost up. The next set of marquee players is up next.

10:43 hrs IST: So, the big story is. Ravichandran Ashwin will now be part of Kings XI Punjab. Ben Stokes has gone to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 crore while Mitchell Starc has gone to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.4 crore. Chris Gayle, maybe not surprisingly, has gone unsold. He is not the same force as he was a couple of years go.

10:40 hrs IST: Mitchell Starc, the Australian left-arm pacer, had an intense bidding war between Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders. In the end, KKR have acquired the Australian for Rs 9.4 crore.