Mayank Agarwal, a regular in the India Premier League, caused a bidding war at the Karnataka Premier League 2017 auction on Sunday (August 6) at the Karnataka State Cricket Association premises in Bangalore.
The hard-hitting batsman, who shot to limelight after finishing the 2010 Under-19 World Cup as India’s highest run-scorer, was one of the biggest attractions of the auction and almost all the teams made a bid for him.
Ballari Tuskers started off with the bidding and were challenged by Bijapur Bulls. Hubli Tigers and Mysuru Warriors soon joined the battle before Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters also tried their luck. In the end, the race was between Bengaluru and Hubli with the latter acquiring the talented player’s services for a whopping amount of Rs 7 lakh. Agarwal’s base price was Rs 50,000.
Agarwal also made a name for himself with his cameos as an opener in the Indian Premier League. He first played in the IPL with Royal Challengers Bangalore for three seasons, from 2011 to 2013, before moving to Delhi Daredevils. He played 21 matches in three seasons for the capital-based outfit before moving to Rising Pune Supergiant for the 2017 edition.
Interestingly, the franchises were less enthusiastic for the big names like Manish Pandey, KL Rahul and Karun Nair. The reason behind it is that these players are likely to miss the major part of the tournament for the national commitments. Pandey, who is currently leading India A in South Africa, was bought for Rs 1.6 lakh by Belagavi while Nair went for Rs 4 lakh to Mysuru. Rahul, on the other hand, was bought for his base price (Rs 50,000) by Ballari.
All-rounder Amit Verma and off-spinner K Gowtham, meanwhile, hit the jackpot. Verma was bought by Ballari for Rs 7.2 lakh while Gowtham went for the same amount to Belagavi Panthers.