IPL Auction 2016: MS Dhoni’s boy Pawan Negi is now Delhi’s millionaire buy

Negi is a left-arm spinner who goes hammer and tongs with the bat lower down the order. His family had migrated from Almora and settled in Delhi’s middle-class Sadiq Nagar locality. Having debuted in 2011 he’s played only three matches over four seasons but is one of those T20 generation cricketers who can be a game-changer in shorter formats. On Friday, the 23-yr-old made the India squad for the upcoming World T20. Today he became the costliest Indian in the IPL 9 auction with Delhi Daredevils paying him Rs 8.5 crore.

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Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Negi had scored 116 runs at a very impressive strike-rate of 158.90 in 10 matches and took six wickets at 8.40. His power-hitting down the order endeared him to Dhoni who backed Negi for the World T20 berth.

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That Dhoni (and also coach Stephen Fleming) wanted to have him in Rising Pune Supergiants was clear the way bidding went. RPS were ready to spend Rs 8 crore for someone with base price at Rs 30 lakh. After that they quit, paving the way for Daredevils to snap up the player they so coveted. Daredevils were happy to walk the extra mile.

Playing for Delhi, Negi scored 170 runs at 85.00 and took 16 wickets at 16.06 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. His stocks rose, but still a startling Rs 8.5 for a little-known player defies logic – it’s the IPL pattern of making millionaires out of molehills.

“Yes, it’s big money. That Pune too went all out for him (Negi) suggested his worth. Stephen Fleming was his coach at CSK and knew what he could bring to the table,” Daredevils CEO Hemant Dua told The Sunday Express.

Krunal Pandya was another example. His brother Hardik has already made it to the Indian limited-overs team, riding on a few game-changing performances in last year’s IPL. He was bought by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 10 lakh, his base price, at the 2015 players’ auction. The same franchise forked out Rs 2 crore for his brother today – Krunal, an unknown quantity. He’s yet to play first-class cricket and has featured in only a handful of List A and domestic T20 fixtures (four and 15 respectively). His big-money buy once again attested the IPL auctions’ unpredictability.

“We have been scouting for talents last seven months. We were looking for the particular type of player for our squad and how we can utilize them. Krunal apart from being Hardik’s brother is a left arm spinner and batsman. Having Hardik added to the incentive,” Mumbai Indians’ Akash Ambani said.

As for the Pandyas, it’s another case of rags to riches story. “Five rupees ki maggi aati thi, mali ko request karke garam pani leta tha aur mein aur mera bhai ground pe banake khate the. Breakfast bhi wohi aur lunch bhi wohi (my brother and I used to get maggi for Rs 5 and we used to request the gardener to give us hot water and we used to prepare and eat it at the ground for lunch and breakfast). 365 days non-stop,” Hardik had recounted during an interview with this paper last month.

Relatively unknown West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite getting Rs 4.2 crore from Daredevils and rookie Rajasthan fast bowler Nathu Singh bagging a Rs 3.2-crore contract from Mumbai Indians confirmed a thorough scouting process during close season. “Brathwaite is a terrific prospect. I went to the Caribbean Premier League, saw him and was very impressed with him,” Dua said. As far as Deepak Hooda – sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4.2 crore – is concerned, his power-hitting had helped Rajasthan Royals win a few matches last term. Big hitters are always in demand in the IPL, especially if they can roll their arm over.

Daredevils took a different approach in this auction, focusing on youth to build a team for the future. For a side starved of success, quick-fix might have been a more logical approach. They planned long-term instead. “Yes, it’s a team for the future. We took the first step in this direction last year bringing in Shreyas Iyer who ended as emerging player of the tournament. The policy of having a star-studded team didn’t work well for us. Players like Negi, Karun Nair (Rs 4 crore) and Rishabh Pant (Rs 1.9), along with Iyer and Mayank Agarwal (both retained) have had the potential to become big stars in two-three years,” Dua explained.

“In the first half we bought Chris Morris (Rs 7 crore) and Brathwaite. In the second half, we concentrated on building the core,” he added.

Rajasthan Royals’ former director of cricket Zubin Bharucha was at the Daredevils’ table today. And there are reports that the franchise want to appoint Rahul Dravid as their head coach. Their auction signings dropped a hint at the Dravid-way but Dua clarified that they have been “evaluating three-four coaches and will decide by month-end”.