India's U-19 WC-winning stars in demand at IPL auction

Following India's fifth Under-19 World Cup triumph earlier this month, members of the team were in demand at the Indian Premier League Player Auction 2022. 

Skipper Yash Dull, Raj Bawa and Rajvardhan Hangargekar were picked up by franchises on Sunday, Day 2 of the auction in Bengaluru.

All-rounder Hangargekar entered the auction at a base price of Rs 30 lakh. Eventually, it was Chennai Super Kings who roped in the youngster for Rs 1.5 crore.

Bawa, another all-rounder, who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, was acquired by Punjab Kings for Rs 2 crore after a bidding war with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.

Dhull, however, could only fetch Rs 50 Lakh from Delhi Capitals.

He reacted to the development, saying it was a 'dream come true'.

'Hi Delhi Capitals! Thank you for showing faith in me and selecting me at the auctions. I have been a part of Delhi Capitals Bal Bhavan Academy for 8-9 years. So this is a dream come true for me. I am really excited to join the team and I am ready to give my best,' Dhull said.

Delhi Capitals' Interim CEO Vinod Bisht was delighted to sign up Dhull.

"Yash has been a talent who has been spotted 4-5 years back since he was a small kid. That time, in the earlier avatar of ours, we always wanted to develop the whole idea of doing grassroots cricket and build stories. This is an outcome of that effort of 5-6 years. When a 14-year-old young talent came up to us, and we supported him at that time, and then he goes on to become the captain of India U-19 team, and wins the World Cup, and is back into our fold," he said.

"This was one talent we could not have allowed to go. The very ethos of saying we develop grassroot talent, we develop talent who can become big and we need to support them in the formative years. That's what exactly we have done. We have done it in the past with Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, and that is a story we want to continue.”

Vicky Ostwal, who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, garnered no interest.

On Day 1 of the auction, South Africa's Under-19 World Cup star, Dewald Brevis, a.k.a Baby AB, who emerged the leading run-getter in the tournament in West the Indies, was picked for Rs 3 crore by Mumbai Indians.