Jackpot for English duo in IPL auction

While marquee player Stokes was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 crore, Mills was bought by last year's runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 12 crore.​
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes

BENGALURU: All-rounder Ben Stokes and medium pacer Tymal Mills, both Englishmen, were the toast of the IPL auction here on Monday. While marquee player Stokes was picked up by Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) for Rs 14.5 crore, Mills was bought by last year's runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 12 crore. 

All-rounder Stokes started with a base price of Rs 2 crore, while fast bowler Mills was picked up after some stiff bidding all the way up from a base price of  Rs 50 lakh.

RPS owner Sanjiv Goenka said of Stokes, “He is a complete player and we have been lacking this genre of player. It was a conscious strategy because we are reinforcing our core. Our intention to buy him was to focus on the first 14 games.”

About Mills, RCB chairman Amrit Thomas said, “We needed to get a first eleven and were in search of a bowler. Mills is a great buy and he suits the conditions in Bengaluru. We would have done whatever was required to get him.”

Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) and Trent Boult (New Zealand) were bought by Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 5 crore each. Australian speedster Pat Cummins was picked up by Daredevils for Rs 4.5 crore. 

One of the surprises of the auction was the sale of uncapped fast bowler T Natarajan for Rs 3 crore to Kings XI Punjab. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4 crore, while Englishman Chris Woakes went to KKR for Rs 4.2 crore. Australian bowler Nathan-Coulter Nile ended up in the KKR camp after attracting a bid of  Rs 3.5 crore. Karn Sharma was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs 3.2 crore. 

The other surprise of the day was Hyderabad player Mohammed Siraj, who went to SRH for Rs 2.6 crore. Karnataka all-rounder Gowtham K was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 2 crore, up from the base price of  Rs 10 lakh.

A total of 66 players were sold and the list includes 27 overseas players. A total of 357 players were up for sale and a maximum of 76 could have been sold. The money spent on Monday was just over Rs 91 crore, while the teams were in a position to spend a combined total of Rs 143.33 crore. 

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