Chennai Super Kings went after David Warner and Faf du Plessis but they couldn't make the winning bid.
The first day of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) mega-auction kicked off on Saturday (February 12) at Bengaluru. The marquee players with a base price of INR 2 crore succeeded in getting the attention of the franchises, as they should be.
After the likes of R Ashwin, Pat Cummins, Shikhar Dhawan, Trent Boult, Shreyas Iyer, and Kagiso Rabada, the last four marquee players, Quinton De Kock, Faf Du Plessis, Mohammad Shami, and David Warner were up for grab.
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Shami, who played for Punjab Kings (PBKS) last year, got an opening bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at INR 2 crore. Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) joined them later to get the service of the Indian pacer.
After Titans and Super Giants backed out, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) showed interest to get Shami in their side. But just when it looked like RCB will get him at INR 5.5 crore, Titans joined the bid again.
Eventually, the 31-year-old was sold to Titans at INR 6.25 crore after RCB quit bidding for him.
Du Plessis got first bidding from his ex-franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and they were challenged by RCB. As CSK and RCB were going after him, soon Delhi also joined them.
The South African batter's price soared to INR 7 crore as RCB made the winning bid.
De Kock's first bid was made by Lucknow, and CSK tried to take the bid away from them but they couldn't. However, Lucknow had to tussle with Mumbai for the Proteas opener.
The 29-year-old was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for INR 6.75 crore after MI failed to get their former player back.
Australia's senior batter, Warner got his opening bid from Delhi at his base price of INR 2 crore. Chennai, who were in search of an opener, joined them in the bidding.
The battle between CSK and DC for Warner was later joined by Mumbai. But Delhi were successful in securing the Aussie cricketer at INR 6.25 crore in the end.