The Indian Premier League is a fan favourite tournament. Cricket lovers look forward to not just the action on the field but even the player selections in the auctions. They root for their favourite teams and want the best players to be selected in the auctions. Right from Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s iconic signing in the first auction to Chris Morris’s over-the-top price, IPL Auctions has witnessed many great moments. But teams have been guilty of making few disastrous mistakes on the auction table.
Let’s Look At Top 5 epic blunders committed by teams in IPL Auctions:
#5 Rajasthan Royals buying Jaydev Unadkat for record price twice
Biggest blunders committed by teams in IPL Auction. Jaydev Unadkat had a standout IPL season in 2017 with Rising Pune Supergiants. His stocks were at an all-time high heading into 2018 auctions. Rajasthan Royals bought Unadkat for a record deal of INR 11.5 crores in 2018.
He had a paltry season in 2018 admitting that his price tag affected his performance. Royals released him ahead of the auctions in 2019 but shockingly bought him again for INR 8.4 crores. Unadkat again flattered to deceive and had another forgettable season. This move from the Royals failed to make any sense.
#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore signing Tymal Mills for 12 crores
Royal Challengers Bangalore came very close to lifting their maiden championship in 2016. They finished as runners-up in the competition. RCB wanted to go one better the next season. Hence they decided to rope in T20 bowling expert, Tymal Mills.
Mills was hot property in 2017 auctions. But teams went out of their way to acquire his services. RCB finally won the big million battle by signing him for INR 12 crores. It proved to be a failed move as Mills couldn’t change RCB’s fortunes.
#3 Sunrisers Hyderabad letting go of Ben Stokes at the last moment in the auctions
Ben Stokes entered the IPL Auctions for the first time in 2017. He was undoubtedly going to be the most talked-about player in the auction. Teams were willing to shell big money on him. It eventually bottled down to a two-horse race between Sunrisers Hyderabad and RPS.
SRH eventually pulled out from the race and RPS acquired Stokes for INR 14.5 crores. Stokes eventually won the Most Valuable Player Award. It proved to be a dear mistake from the orange army.
#2 Royal Challengers Bangalore signing Saurabh Tiwary instead of Rohit Sharma
Saurabh Tiwary and Rohit Sharma were two of the most promising youngsters in the circuit. Sharma had even won an IPL with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. But Deccan Chargers had surprisingly released Rohit Sharma ahead of the auctions. Saurabh Tiwary too was released by MI despite him having had a great season with them.
RCB had the opportunity to buy Rohit Sharma in the auctions but they strangely didn’t go all out for him. They settled in to buy Saurabh Tiwary. A decision that might still haunt the Bangalore franchise.
#1 Delhi Daredevils not picking Virat Kohli from the player’s Pool
There can’t be a bigger blunder in history than Delhi not picking Virat Kohli in the inaugural auctions. Delhi had the first right to pick a player from the U-19 draft. They picked left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan ahead of Virat Kohli. RCB took the opportunity and grabbed Virat Kohli for a paltry sum of INR 12 lakhs. The rest as they say is history!
