The much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction finally got underway in Bangalore on Saturday (February 12).
After the registration of 1214 players, a total of 600 players are going under the hammer in the two-day event as all the franchises are looking to build their squads. Of these, only 97 players are up for grabs on the first day.
The bid started with the marquee players and the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada grabbed the headlines with their hefty price tag.
India batter Shreyas Iyer, the man in demand, was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping INR 12.25 crore. He entered into the auction with a base price of INR 2 crore and his former franchise Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans also showed interest in him but KKR eventually bagged the cricketer.
New Zealand pacer Trent Boult invited bids from Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals. His ex-franchise Mumbai Indians also joined the bid but Rajasthan eventually got the left-armer for INR 8 crore, which is four times more than his base price.
As expected, Kagiso Rabada, with a base price of INR 2 crore, triggered a huge bidding war. Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals were the franchises interested in him but Punjab Kings joined the bidding war and eventually fetched the South Africa speedster for INR 9.25 crore.
