On the opening day of IPL auction England Charismatic all-rounder Ben Stokes and Australia pacer Mitchell Starc were picked up by Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the 2018 Indian Premier League Player Auction today. Rajasthan bagged Stokes for Rs 12.50 crore with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) dropping out of the race to sign him. Starc, sold to Kolkata for Rs 9.40 crore, was also on KXIP’s radar.
Stokes had fetched a record-breaking bid of Rs 14.5 crore bid in the edition. The IPL will allow Rajasthan to opt for a replacement for Stokes in case he is not available for the entire season due to his ongoing legal troubles.
Earlier in the day, SunRisers Hyderabad used their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain Shikhar Dhawan for Rs 5.20 crore, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was picked up by KXIP for Rs 7.60 crore. Rajasthan made use of their RTM card to acquire Ajinkya Rahane for Rs. 4 crore.
