Bengaluru: England batsman Liam Livingstone was roped in by Punjab Kings for Rs 11.50 million on the second day of the Indian Premier League auction, while the franchise also spent Rs 6 crore for West Indies fast bowler Odeon Smith. Among Indian players, all-rounder Shivam Dubey was picked up by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 4 crore due to his ability to hit sixes, while Gujarat Titans bought another out-of-favour all-rounder Vijay Shankar for Rs 1.40 crore.
Cheteshwar Pujara did not find any buyer in the auction while Ajinkya Rahane was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for his base price of Rs 1 crore. The highlight of the first season, however, was Livinstone, who received a contract worth more than $1 million. At one time five teams were bidding for him. Livingstone played for Rajasthan Royals last season and did not perform as expected on slow pitches.
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Although the players’ space in the franchise was vacant (minimum 18 players), there was an eagerness to add him to the team. Sunrisers Hyderabad made a bid of Rs 42 million for South African pacer Marco Jensen, who troubled the Indian batsmen during the recent Test series. For him, there was a battle of bidding between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab. At the beginning of the day, these two teams had Rs 20 and 28 crores respectively. (agency)