IPL Auction 2021: India stars Harbhajan and Kedar Jadhav picked up in accelerated auction

IPL Auction 2021: Harbhajan was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders while Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Kedar Jadhav.

After going unsold in the first round of Indian Premier League players’ auction, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and all-rounder Kedar Jadhav were picked up in the accelerated round on Thursday in Chennai.

Harbhajan Singh (L) and Kedar Jadhav (R) (HT Collage)

Harbhajan, who was released by Chennai Super Kings earlier this year, was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders at his base price of ₹2 Cr. KKR also bought Karun Nair and Ben Cutting for ₹50 Lakhs and 75 Lakhs respectively.

Another former CSK player Jadhav was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹2 Cr. The franchise also picked Mujeeb Ur Rahman at his base price of ₹1.5 crores.

Earlier, Piyush Chawla was picked up by Mumbai Indians for ₹2.4 crore. England's Adil Rashid who had his base price as ₹1.5 crore did not find any takers and he went unsold.

Glenn Maxwell (14.25 crores), Chris Morris (16.25 crores), and Jhye Richardson (14 crores) were the biggest buys in the ongoing auction.

Maxwell was picked up by RCB, while Morris and Richardson went to Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings respectively.

On the other hand, spin bowling all-rounder Gowtham was bought for a record ₹9.25 crore by the Chennai Super Kings. The 32-year-old is currently with the Indian team as a net bowler for the ongoing Test series against England.

Tamil Nadu's Shahrukh Khan, named after the Bollywood superstar, expectedly got a handsome ₹5.25 crore deal from Punjab Kings, more than 51 times his base price of ₹20 lakh. Shahrukh has been in the limelight with his exploits in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan was lapped up by KKR for ₹3.2 crore. He missed the IPL last year as he was serving a ban for failing to report a corrupt approach.

Australian pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile also ended up with a good deal, fetching a ₹5 crore bid from Mumbai Indians. He had a base price of ₹1.5 crore.

Ace Australian batsman Steve Smith, who was released by Rajasthan Royals, was bought by Delhi Capitals for ₹2.20 crore, only ₹20 lakh more than his base price.