Lots of surprises here.
It was a massive surprise when auction for wicket keeping category started in the post-lunch season of IPL auction 2018 on Saturday in Bengaluru. Many of the established keepers got completely snubbed and it was Sanju Samson, who got the top money with an impressive Rs 8 crore bid. However, overall MS Dhoni remains the highest paid keeper who was retained by CSK for a whopping Rs 15 crore pay purse.
Uncapped Indian player hailing from Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan ensured that there was a fierce bidding for him. He is a keeper with a very aggressive batting style. So very often this former U-19 skipper has been compared with MS Dhoni. However he hasn't really lived up to his potential so far. Ishan played for Gujarat Lions last season, scoring 319 runs at an average of 21. In first class career he averages 41. Kishan was bought for Rs 6.2 crore by Mumbai Indians. RCB and CSK also made a bid for him, but Mumbai finally edged out. His base price was only Rs 40 lakh.
In a surprise move, no one was interested in Parthiv Patel, who has had a decent IPL record in the past. de Kock, one of world's most accomplished keeper went for an unexpected low price of Rs 2.80 crores to RCB.
India's test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha triggered a furious bidding war. SRH, KKR, MI started a bidding war and finally David Warner's team got him for Rs 5 crore.
In another shocking decision, English keeper Bairstow who is also an accomplished batter got no bids and was unsold. Earlier McCullum was bought by RCB for Rs 3.6 crores
Dinesh Karthik too generated a lot of interest among the IPL franchise owners and after intense bidding, KKR got him for Rs 7.4 crores. They faced a spirited challenge from RR, who finally opted out.
Naman Ojha, who had few indifferent IPL seasons, got no bids.
Robin Uthappa, who has been one of the instrumental players in KKR's campaign in the previous year will again don the purple colours. KKR got him using the RTM card for Rs 6.4 crores, after Mumbai Indians gave the highest bid.
But the real surprise package of this round was Sanju Samson's bidding. Starting from a modest base price of Rs 1 crore, Samson attracted bids from RR and MI, and it was a brutal battle till the end. Samson was finally snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 8 crores.
CSK got a backup keeper in Rayadu for Rs 2.2 crores. Sam Billings remained unsold.
English keeper Jos Butler with base price of Rs 1.5 crores started a competition between MI and Royals. Finally Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 4.4 crores.
So in all, it was Samson who emerged as the top pick among wicketkeepers, which hardly anyone would have expected before the start of the auction.
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