IPL 2022 Auction: Ishan, Chahar, Shreyas turn millionaires on frenzied opening day; Avesh costliest ever uncapped player

The IPL 2022 mega auction lived up to its name as all 10 franchises were involved in back-and-forth bidding wars to capture some of the most exciting players the opening day had to offer.

The IPL 2022 mega auction lived up to its name as all 10 franchises were involved in back-and-forth bidding wars to capture some of the most exciting players the opening day had to offer. Some players found new homes, while others returned to their previous franchises, who did not hesitate in splurging money for their trusted resources over the years. This statement is a testament to Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings' belief in Ishan Kishan, as they spent whopping amounts to reacquire the two youngsters.

Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar and Shreyas emerged as top buys on opening day.  (Getty/BCCI)

MI took time to get into the action, but once they did, they shelled out a rollicking amount of ₹15.2 crore for Ishan, making the 23-year-old batter the second most expensive Indian player in the history of IPL auction, behind Yuvraj Singh's ₹16 crore back in 2014. Similarly, CSK rallied behind Chahar, and with his stocks being higher than ever as he has shown with both bat and ball lately, the four-time IPL champions paid a colossal ₹14 crore. Towards the end of the day, history was created as fast bowler Avesh Khan became the costliest uncapped player of all time with Lucknow Super Giant getting him for ₹10 crore.

Not to say that the bowlers did not enjoy a field day at the auction. Prasidh Krishna, on the high of the two ODIs recently played against the West Indies, joined the 10-crore club, fetching the exact amount from Rajasthan Royals. Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur entered the nine-digit range, going for ₹10 and 10.7 crore respectively to Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals. Also for the first time, Krunal Pandya will be up against his brother Hardik Pandya as the former MI all-rounder was locked in by LSG.

Another big takeaway was Kolkata Knight Riders finding a potential captain in Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai batter, having previously represented the Capitals will look to lead KKR to a third title and do justice to the franchise spending ₹12.2 crore on him. Iyer was the first player to hit the 10-crore mark before others joined the party.

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The day began with the marquee set of cricketers, all of which were purchased by franchises. Shikhar Dhawan found a new home in Punjab Kings, while Ravichandran Ashwin joined Jos Buttler at Rajasthan. Pat Cummins managed to remain with KKR but Kagiso Rabada (PBKS), Trent Boult (RR), Mohammed Shami (GT), Faf du Plessis (RCB), Quinton de Kock (LSG) would all be representing new franchises.

Sunrisers Hyderabad invested heavily – ₹10.7 crore on Nicholas Pooran, and Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel returned to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹10.7 crore each. In the latter stages of the day, a couple of surprises unfolded when Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia - with a base price of ₹40 lakh, were picked up by PBKS and GT respectively.