IPL Auction 2018: Rajasthan Royals splurge to make Jaydev Unadkat the costliest Indian buy so far; Dale Steyn goes unsold

Bengaluru: Indian fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat claimed a Rs 11.5 crore deal with the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals even as South African pace ace Dale Steyn went unsold on the second day of the IPL players’ auction. The Royals, known for their wise spending, splurged some more to also clinch Karnataka off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham for Rs 6.2 crore. [caption id=“attachment_3448782” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Jayadev Unadkat who turned up for the Rising Pune Supergiant in the previous edition. Sportzpics[/caption] Unadkat became the costliest Indian buy at the auction so far with his price skyrocketing to Rs 11.5 crore from a base price of Rs 1.5 crore after a bidding war between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. Rajasthan Royals, however, had the last laugh. Unadkat was sought after because of his specialist T20 skills and the fact that he took 24 wickets at 13.41 for Rising Pune Supergiant last season. Royals had also made the auction’s most expensive buy on Saturday, picking up England all-rounder Ben Stokes for Rs 12.5 crore. Their other costly purchase of the day was offie Gowtham, who was sold for 31 times his base price of Rs 20 lakh. Teams continued with their strategy of going after the Indian players, be it spinners or pacers. Bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar was sold to RCB for Rs 3.2 crore, Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 3 crore, Kings XI Punjab used Right to Match to retain Mohit Sharma for Rs 2.4 crore, Jharkhand spinner Shahbaz Nadeem was bought back by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 3.2 crore and Mohammad Siraj was picked up by RCB for Rs 2.6 crore. There were no takers for big international names like Steyn, England’s Eoin Morgan and New Zealand’s Corey Anderson.