Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 18 (ANI): Australian all-rounder Riley Meredith was picked up by Punjab Kings for Rs 8 crore in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) mini players auction.
The 24-year-old had listed his base price as Rs 40 lakh heading into the auction. Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings had a bidding war for Meredith, but in the end, the pacer was picked up by Preity Zinta’s franchise.
Delhi Capitals picked up spinner M Siddharth for Rs 20 lakh in the auction. SunRisers Hyderabad managed to pickup Jagadeesha Suchith for Rs 30 lakh.
Rajasthan Royals bagged KC Cariappa for his base price of Rs 20 lakh, while Nepal spinner Sandeep Lamichhane went unsold.
Earlier, Glenn Maxwell (14.25 crore), Chris Morris (16.25 crore), and Jhye Richardson (14 crore) were the biggest buys in the ongoing auction.
Maxwell was picked up by RCB, while Morris and Richardson went to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings respectively.
The IPL “mini-auction” this year is witnessing 291 players going under the hammer as England pacer Mark Wood withdrew from the auction at the end moment. All these cricketers have been shortlisted by the eight franchises. A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players, and 3 players from associate nations are up for grabs in the mini-auction.
Rs 2 crore is the highest reserve price and two Indian players – Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav – and eight overseas players – Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy, and Mark Wood chose to be slotted in the highest bracket.
However, right on the eve of the auction, England pacer Wood decided to withdraw his name in order to spend time with his family, reported ESPNcricinfo.
Twelve players are on the auction list with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav are the two Indian players in the list of 11 cricketers with a base price of Rs 1 crore. (ANI)