Will Jayadev Unadkat have a better IPL than he did last season?
Clearly, the Rajasthan Royals know something we don't...
The Indian Premier League Players Auction once again proved to be a life-turning experience for some cricketers, who laughed all the way to the bank.
Jaydev Unadkat was the most expensive purchase to continue his good run at the auction while little-known Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube were rewarded for their good showing in domestic cricket and other T20 games.
England's Sam Curran was in high demand as the franchises continued to spend lavishly to bolster their squad ahead of the 12th edition of the IPL next year.
Out of the 60 players sold at the auction, 40 were Indians and 20 foreigners, which cost the teams a combined Rs 1.068 billion (Rs 106.8 crore).
The Top 8 picks in the IPL Players Auction:
Jaydev Unadkat (Rs 84 million/Rs 8.4 crore)
The left-arm pacer once again finished as the most expensive player in the players auction.
The 27-year-old Saurashtra pacer was retained by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore.
The Royals had bought him for Rs 115 million (Rs 11.5 crore) at the last auction before releasing him after a poor season.
Will Unadkat have a better IPL than he did last season? Clearly, the Rajasthan Royals know something we don't...
Varun Chakaravarthy (Rs 8.4 crore)
The Tamil Nadu mystery spinner was the joint costliest player at the auction.
The architect-turned cricketer was snapped up by the Kings XI Punjab for more than 40 times his base price (Rs 2 million/Rs 20 lakh).
Until a few years ago, the 27-year-old spinner was designing buildings, having completed his BArch from Chennai's SRM University.
He initially bowled medium pace before injury forced him to turn to spin and his fortunes changed as he began to make an impact in the highly competitive Chennai city league.
Varun said his good show in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, during which he took 22 wickets, helped him get noticed and brought him on the radar of IPL franchises.
Sam Curran (Rs 72 million/Rs 7.2 crore)
The England all-rounder, who troubled India during the Test series earlier this year, was rewarded with a handsome IPL contract.
The 20 year old was the most expensive foreign player at the IPL auction after he was sold to Punjab for Rs 7.2 crore.
Colin Ingram (Rs 64 million/Rs 6.4 crore)
The South African, known for his big-hitting abilites, was snapped up by Delhi Capital.
Carlos Brathwaite (Rs 50 million/Rs 5 crore)
The West Indian -- whose big hitting in the final over of the last World T20 championship won his team the title -- was sold to KKR after a bidding war between the Dinesh Karthik-led side and Kings XI Punjab.
The all-rounder entered the auction with a base price of Rs 7.5 million (Rs 75 lakh).
Axar Patel (Rs 5 crore)
The Gujarat left-arm spinnerl, a regular at Punjab the last few seasons, was snapped up by Delhi Capitals after a tough bidding war with his original franchise.
During his 5 IPL seasons for Punjab, Axar took 61 wickets in 68 games and scored 686 runs.
Mohit Sharma (Rs 5 crore)
The fast bowler returns to Chennai Super Kings after featuring for Punjab the last three seasons.
Shivam Dube (Rs 5 crore)
The Mumbai all-rounder was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore after his stunning exploits with bat and ball in domestic cricket.
A day before the auction, the 25 year old smashed Baroda spinner Swapnil Singh for 5 consecutive sixes in a Ranji Trophy game. He has already hit two centuries in this season's Ranji Trophy.
