The IPL is the perfect place in Indian cricket where talent meets opportunity. While not all players get the chance to play for India, some impress the IPL franchises and bag handsome amounts at the auction.
Franchises are always on the lookout for unearthed talented cricketers and are willing to splurge on money at them in the auction. Other players who perform well in the domestic circuits too get attention from the teams.
Here are the top 5 most expensive uncapped Indian players in IPL auction:
Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan was at Delhi Capitals last season for 70 lakhs; this year he’s been bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping 10 crore at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. While Avesh’s pace and skill had impressed everyone in domestic cricket, he had his breakthrough IPL season last year – picking up 24 wickets in DC’s run till the playoffs – and that rocketed his value in the auction.
Avesh was uncapped till the mega-auction; now he’s made his T20I debut for India last month after the mega-auction had happened and became the costliest uncapped Indian ever.
Krishnappa Gowtham
Looking for a spinning all-rounder, Chennai Super Kings splashed out 9.25 crore for Karnataka’s Krishnappa Gowtham at the IPL 2021 auction. However, Gowtham didn’t get to make his debut for CSK as Dhoni stuck with a similar side throughout the title-winning campaign. Gowtham is now with Lucknow, bought for 90 lakh.
Shahrukh Khan
Tamil Nadu’s six-hitting machine, Shahrukh Khan was bought by the Punjab Kings again – this time for a mammoth 9 crore price tag at the mega-auction, making Shahrukh the third most expensive uncapped Indian in IPL auction.
Shahrukh helped Tamil Nadu win the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy with a six on the last ball, and has got his worth increased. He was with Punjab in 2021, for 5.25 crore before being released.
Rahul Tewatia
Rahul Tewatia has his name etched in the IPL folklore with his miraculous heist against Punjab in IPL 2020. However, after that knock – the ‘Tewatia innings’ – the all-rounder hadn’t done much for RR and was released.
He was, however, a sought after player in the mega-auction as the Gujarat Titans bought his services for a huge sum of money – 9 crore, despite his disappointing show last season.
Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi elicited a bidding war at the mega-auction, with the Sunrisers Hyderabad being able to outbid the rest, at the final price of 8.5 crore. This interest in Tripathi was because of his consistent and impactful performances for KKR last season – average of 28 with a strike rate of 140 – playing a key role in KKR reaching the final.
