CHENNAI: It was a mixed bag for Tamil Nadu players on the first day of the 2022 Indian Premier League auction held in Bengaluru on Saturday.
About 30 players from Tamil Nadu were in the fray where 10 teams were bidding to pick their respective squads before the IPL which will start at the end of March this season. R Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, T Natarajan, Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore and M Ashwin were lapped up by various franchises, while uncapped players N Jagadeesan, Hari Nishanth and M Siddharth did not find any bidders.
Ace spin bowling all-rounder R Ashwin was the second name in the auction and he went to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 5 crores as he teams up with Jos Buttler in what was a storyline that drew a lot of talk on social media.
Rajasthan Royals snapped up the Indian off-spinner after the teams got into a bidding war for him.
Ashwin was released by Delhi Capitals after the 2021 season. He had previously captained Punjab Kings for two seasons and is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL. Ashwin has played 167 matches in the Indian Premier League. He has picked 145 wickets at an average of 27.80 so far.
"In Ashwin, Rajasthan has bagged a seasoned campaigner, a world class player. Money does not matter for him. Performance and contribution to the team's cause are all that matter for him. He has led an IPL team for two years. He has been recently playing in the white-ball formats as well for India so this also augurs well for him. I am sure he will do well for Rajasthan,'' said M Venkataramana, chief coach of Tamil Nadu team.
But the biggest surprise was middle order batsman being bought back by Punjab for a whopping sum Rs 9 crores. Shahrukh Khan's last ball six for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy final against Karnataka which Tamil Nadu won has sent his stock soaring. It was no surprise that CSK, KKR and Punjab bid for him intensely.
"Shahrukh Khan should stay focused on his game and should not allow the bid amount to affect his game. Expectations will certainly be high, he should play his natural game and not allow pressure to seep in,'' advised Venkataramana.
Former Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik who was with KKR has been bought by RCB this season for Rs 5.5 crores.
"DK has vast experience playing the IPL and all formats of the game. He has done extremely well for Tamil Nadu in white ball cricket. Even in the one-dayers for Tamil Nadu he had shown his ability to score runs quickly. Whichever team he plays he will adapt easily and his experience will come in handy. Washington and Natarajan will be playing for Hyderabad. Natarajan is a hard working player and he is sure to fire this season. Washington is a quality player who has proved his mettle while playing for the country. He is one player who will make all of us sit and watch his performance in this IPL,'' opined Venkataramana.