IPL 2018 Auction: Gautam Gambhir, Ashwin react after being unretained by KKR and CSK
Bengaluru: The highly-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 player auction once again lived up to the hype on Saturday. While there were some whooping bids made for the likes of KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Englishman Ben Stokes, there were a few surprise picks too.
With speculation surrounding Ravichandran Ashwin’s return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Team India spinner was roped in by Kings XI Punjab for a sum of Rs. 7.60 crores.
"The auction is always a house of casino, I am happy that @lionsdenkxip will be my new home and thank you so much @ChennaiIPL for all the great memories. #IPLAuction," Ashwin wrote on Twitter.
The auction is always a house of casino, I am happy that @lionsdenkxip will be my new home and thank you so much @ChennaiIPL for all the great memories. #IPLAuction
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) January 27, 2018
Trending: Indian Premier League Player Auction 2018 - Who went to which team at what price
Meanwhile, after leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) twice to glory, Gautam Gambhir was retained by former franchise Delhi Daredevils (DD) for a meagre sum of Rs. 2.60 crores.
The Shah Rukh Khan-co owned team instead used their RTM to buy back Chris Lynn for Rs 9.40 crores.
I AM BACK @DelhiDaredevils @IPL," tweeted the Delhi batsman.
I AM BACK @DelhiDaredevils @IPL
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) January 27, 2018
KKR CEO Venky Mysore later explained the reason of letting go of Gambhir, "It is keeping in mind conditions in Kolkata. The playing conditions and wicket has changed quite drastically. So if you see the two retentions which we have had -- Sunil Narine and Andre Russel -- and now you add Mitchell Starc to that, I think that makes a good bunch of bowlers who can bat.”
Catch the live action from the Auctions in Bengaluru here - Indian Premier League 2018 Player Auction: CSK retain core, Stokes earns big
