Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar may be currently out of reckoning for a place in the Indian squad, across formats, but it did not stop franchises from getting into an intense bidding war as India fast bowlers, on Monday, earned big bucks on day 2 of the IPL mega auction at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah.
Bhuvneshwar, who is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history among fast bowlers, with 181 scalps in 176 appearances, and is the first Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 300 wickets in the shortest format, was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for INR 10.75 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad, where the veteran cricketer spent 10 years, including serving as a captain briefly, showed no interest as Mumbai Indians had their paddle up straightaway for his base price of INR 2 crore. Lucknow Super Giants then tested MI as the bid quickly crossed the 8-crore mark, before RCB made a late entry into the battle, outlasting the two for the final bid of INR 10.75 crore. It was the highest any player went on Monday.