Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga, arguably the highest-profile overseas batsman and bowler in seasons past, went unsold on day one of the IPL 2018 auction in Bengaluru.
Gayle had set his base price at INR 2 crore (USD 312,500 approx) and Malinga at INR 1 crore (USD 156,000 approx), numbers that were breached several times in the sale of other players during the day.
England captain Joe Root, who has never been part of the IPL previously, also went unsold – there had been questions asked ahead of the auction on whether the England players would be bought at the auction, given their availability issues. Unsold players could be called back into the auction on day two, if requested by any franchise.
Another England player had no problems going for big bucks, though. All rounder Ben Stokes was the biggest buy in the first round of bidding, going from a base price of INR 2 crore to INR 12.5 crore (USD 1.95m approx) to Rajasthan Royals – back from their two-year suspension for their role in the spot-fixing scandal of 2013. Questions remain over whether he will play in the IPL at all, though, as he faces charges of affray – if he is ruled out before the tournament begins, the IPL will allow Royals a replacement player.
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