Fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat had a weekend to remember as on Sunday he broke bank to become the costliest Indian at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction with a pay packet of Rs 11.5 crore and was then retained in India squad for the T20I series in South Africa.
Former IPL champions Rajasthan Royals bought the left-arm pacer for Rs 11.5 crore to leave behind the other three interested bidders Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings.
Interestingly, the Rajasthan owners had only Rs 16.55 crore left in their pocket when they bid Rs 11.5 crore for Unadkat.
Before Unadkat, capped Indian batsmen Manish Pandey and KL Rahul bagged salaries of Rs 11 crore each on the first day of the auction in Begaluru from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab, respectively.
However, controversial England allrounder Ben Stokes remains the most expensive player overall at Rs 12.5 crore. He will partner Unadkat at Rajasthan Royals.
Jayadev Unadkat will be laughing all the way to the bank this year! RR picks him up 11.5C! #summeriscoming
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) January 28, 2018
Jaydev was best suited for the sluggish Chennai pitch...RR’s punt with Unadkat is a little risky IMHO. With Buttler, Darcy, Stokes and Tripathi, RR wont make slow surfaces. #IPLAuction
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 28, 2018
Jaydev Unadkat becomes the second most expensive buy at this year's IPL auction as he is bought by Rajasthan Royals for £1,267,000 https://t.co/NK42SZ87Wa pic.twitter.com/01BAuY2E2s
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) January 28, 2018
And Unadkat the highest paid Indian from the auction. So happy for him. Bowlers getting their due. https://t.co/qcOhskWFEu
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 28, 2018
Jaydev unadkat be like...#IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/QoPzglesrh
— Upkar Kesar (@upkar_k8) January 28, 2018
From money ball to having a ball with money, the @rajasthanroyals have turned their image around. 12.5 for Ben Stokes 11.5 for Jayadev Unadkat. VIVO #IPLAuction
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) January 28, 2018
jaydev unadkat sold for 11.5 cr.
other players be like pic.twitter.com/ETbribWefX— mohammed Idris (@idukhan888283) January 28, 2018
Teams, meanwhile, continued with their strategy of going after the Indian players, be it spinners or pacers.
Bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar was sold to RCB for Rs 3.2 crore and Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 3 crore.
Kings XI Punjab used Right to Match to retain Mohit Sharma for Rs 2.4 crore, Jharkhand spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was bought back by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 3.2 crore and Mohammad Siraj was picked up by RCB for Rs 2.6 crore.
There were no takers for big international names like Steyn, England's Eoin Morgan and New Zealand's Corey Anderson.
(With agency inputs)
