28 January,2018 03:04 PM IST | Bangalore | AFP
Jaydev Unadkat
Rising pace bowler Jaydev Unadkat joined Rajasthan Royals for $1.8 million on Sunday but a long list of foreign stars went unsold in the Indian Premier League auction. After snapping up Ben Stokes for $1.96 million on the opening day, the Royals made Unadkat their second most expensive buy and the top-priced Indian in the auction. Stokes and Unadkat will join Australian captain Steve Smith, who will lead the Royals. The team are returning to the most lucrative T20 league after a two-year illegal gambling ban.
The team also spent almost $1 million for uncapped Indian off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham. Top English names, including one-day captain Eoin Morgan and batsman Alex Hales, failed however to attract bids from the eight teams on the second day of the auction in Bangalore. England Test captain Joe Root and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow were waiting for a second chance after being ignored by the teams on day one. Veteran South African paceman Dale Steyn, Australians Shaun Marsh and Nathan Lyon and New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson were also rejected by the IPL teams.
Explosive West Indies batsman Chris Gayle was another to go unsold on Saturday. The second day belonged to Indian talent with the 26-year-old Unadkat, who has played one Test and seven one-day internationals, drawing bigger bids than some big home names. Indian batsmen Manish Pandey and Lokesh Rahul both pocketed $1.7 million after being sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab respectively on Saturday. Mumbai Indians on Sunday took West Indies' left-handed opener Evin Lewis for $600,000. Among other foreign players to draw rare bids was Australia all-rounder Dan Christian, who was sold to Delhi Daredevils for $238,000. A total of 578 players were up for auction ahead of the season which runs from April 7 to May 27. The IPL has been boosted by a new five year $2.5-billion media deal.
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