Day 1 of the IPL Mega Auction 2022 was full of twists and turns, as franchises have battled to retain their favourite players. The day saw as many as nine picks which are worth over Rs. 10 crores. Youngster Ishan Kishan remained the highest pick of the day, as Mumbai successfully retained him for Rs. 15.25 crores. Deepak Chahar was sold to CSK for a huge amount of Rs. 14 crores, making him one of the top picks at the IPL Auction 2022. The Chennai management has succeeded in bagging most of their former players, as they have added back the Caribbean all-rounder, DJ Bravo, veteran batsman Robin Uthappa, and the dependable Ambati Rayadu, to their squad.
After a fairly long stint with CSK, Shardul Thakur had to part ways with them, as the Delhi Capitals picked him for an extravagant Rs. 10.75 crores. Though CSK showed interest in Shardul, making a couple of bids, he has eventually ended up in the Delhi based franchise. The New Zealand pacer, Lockie Ferguson, was purchased by the newly formed Gujarat franchise, after an intense bidding battle among the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Lucknow Super Giants, and Gujarat Titans. One of the surprisingly expensive picks of the day was the West Indian batsman, Nicholas Pooran, who was obtained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, for a massive amount of Rs. 10.75 crores. The Pandya brothers are set to play against each other for the first time in IPL as Krunal Pandya was bought by the Lucknow based franchise for a price of 8.25 crores. Hardik Pandya was drafted by the Gujarat Titans earlier this year, for a whopping 15 crores.
KKR has made yet another expensive purchase on day one, as they bought the Indian young pacer, Shivam Mavi, for Rs. 7.25 crores. The Tamil Nadu batting sensation, Shahrukh Khan, was retained by PBKS for Rs. 9 crores, which is one of the top picks at the IPL Auction 2022. Another youngster who hit a jackpot at the IPL Mega Auction 2022 was Abhishek Sharma, who was acquired by SRH for a hefty 6.50 crores. Delhi Capitals were seen to be on a bidding spree, as they added 8 players to their squad on the first day. The Rajasthan Royals were the top buyers of the day in terms of money spent, as they have spent close to Rs. 50 crores on the first day.
Some of the uncapped Indian players who have bagged contracts at the IPL Auction 2022 are Priyam Garg, Abinav Manohar, Ashwin Hebbar, Riyan Parag, and Harpreet Brar. Gujarat Titans have made five purchases on day one, spending 29.85 crores. Surprisingly, experienced campaigners, such as Suresh Raina, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Shakib Al Hasan, and David Miller have gone unsold on day one of the IPL Mega Auction 2022. They will go under the hammer again on day two.
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