Recap: IPL 2018 Auction Day 1 Report

Bengaluru, Jan 27 - England all-rounder Ben Stokes and Indian youngsters Manish Pandey and Lokesh Rahul emerged as the most valuable players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction here on Saturday. Debut season winners Rajasthan Royals (RR) secured Stokes

Shikhar Dhawan, Kieron Pollard, Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis were meanwhile brought back by their respective teams using the RTM option.

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan went to Chennai for his base price of Rs 2 crore as there were no other takers.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan started at a base price of Rs 1 crore and went for double that amount to Hyderabad after a short tussle with Rajasthan and Kolkata.

Gautam Gambhir went to Delhi for Rs 2.8 crore. The veteran opener had represented KKR for seven years, leading them twice to the title. But the Kolkata based franchise did not use the RTM option, letting the left-hander return to his hometown.

Yuvraj Singh meanwhile, was taken by Punjab at his base price of Rs 2 crore as there were no other bidders.

Among the all-rounders, Yusuf Pathan and Colin Monroe went to Hyderabad and Delhi respectively for identical prices of Rs 1.9 crore. England's Moeen Ali went to RCB for Rs 1.7 crore.

Star Australian all-rounder Shane Watson started at a surprisingly low base prise of Rs 1 crore. He went for Rs 4 crore to Chennai who beat off competition from Rajasthan.

Veteran South Africa star Hashim Amla, the England duo of Joe Root and Johhny Bairstow, the Kiwi trio of Martin Guptill, Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenagan, Australian all-rounder James Faulkner and his compatriot, fast bowler Josh Hazlewood were the biggest names to remain unsold.

Not surprisingly, veteran Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga also did not find any takers. The leg-spin duo of Australian Adam Zampa and Samuel Badree of West Indies also went unsold.

Among the Indians, Murali Vijay and Ishant Sharma were the biggest players to remain unsold at base prices of Rs 2 crore and Rs 75 lakh respectively. Wicket-keeper Naman Ojha was also unsold.

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IANS