07 February,2016 01:43 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
Shane Watson may have bagged all the headlines for being the most expensive buys at the 2016 Indian Premier League auction held in Bangalore on Saturday, but it was the Indian uncapped players who stole the spotlight
Indiau00c3u0083u00c2u00a2u00c3u0082u00c2u0080u00c3u0082u00c2u0099s latest T20 squad member Pawan Negi
Shane Watson may have bagged all the headlines for being the most expensive buys at the 2016 Indian Premier League auction held in Bangalore on Saturday, but it was the Indian uncapped players who stole the spotlight.
India's latest T20 squad member Pawan Negi
Even before tasting the rigours of international cricket, these domestic players reaped handsome rewards for their domestic performances, making them crorepatis in a day.
Delhi Ranji Trophy player, Pawan Negi, who made his way into the national squad for World T20 and Asia Cup on the eve of the IPL auction, fetched a mind-boggling Rs 8.5 crore starting from a base price of Rs 30 lakh.
The Delhi Daredevils buy was the second highest earner after Watson in the auction.
Similarly, Tamil Nadu's leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin, who bagged a 10-wicket haul in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, would have never imagined his life would change overnight.
'Unexpected price'
The 24-year-old, who went for of R4.5 crore to Rising Pune Supergiants, expressed shock after becoming second highest priced Indian uncapped player. "I expected to be bought, but not at this price. I ended up getting picked by a team that I didn't attend trials for. My wife was more nervous than me and she started crying when I was bought by Pune," Ashwin was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.com.
Others in the R4-crore bracket were Karun Nair and Deepak Hooda (Rs 4.2cr). Reigning IPL champions Mumbai Indians went all out to buy rookie pacer Nathu Singh for Rs 3.2 crore and Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya's brother Krunal for Rs 2 crore.
Meanwhile, Delhi Daredevils did not think twice before splurging Rs 1.9 crore on India U-19 World Cup player Rishabh Pant. And Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions spent Rs 1.5 crore on Ankit Rajpoot, Rs 1.2 crore on Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare and R1 crore on Uttar Pradesh's Eklavya Dwivedi respectively.
