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It is a well-known fact that the IPL is half-won at the auction table. Teams bid for their target players and some teams might be ready to buy them at any cost. Each franchise have a specific budget for their target players.
The costly buys in the auction always have an extra pressure to perform well and this pressure has had drastic effects in their performance.
However, some of the best players in this year's have not been the costly buys, but the bargain buys that have worked wonders for the team. Ambati Rayudu and Chris Gayle are the best examples of bargain buys.
Here, we will look at the top players who were surprisingly unsold in the first round of the auction.
#4 Tim Southee
New Zealand spearhead Tim Southee was acquired by the Royal Challengers Bangalore at his base price of 1 crore during the second round of the auction. Though he got to figure in the starting XI only during RCB's sixth game against Kolkata Knight Riders, he has made the most use of it.
Southee replaced the out-of-form Corey Anderson and this change has proved to be worthy for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He has played a total of 7 games so far this season where he has taken 5 wickets at a noteworthy economy of 7.93. He single-handedly won the match for Royal Challengers Bangalore against his former team Mumbai Indians where they defended a below-par score of 167.
He also played a crucial knock of 36* against Chennai Super Kings in a pitch where modern-day batting greats like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers failed to reach even double-digit numbers.
Buying Tim Southee at his base price has come as a blessing in disguise for RCB.
#3 Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel, the Indian wicket-keeper batsman has been part of IPL since the inaugural edition. He has played for various franchises which include Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He is a wicket-keeper batsman who can play the role of an opening batsman. He is an aggressive batsman who can anchor the chase as well as rotate the strike constantly.
His IPL stats are not staggering but he can be very unpredictable. Out of the 124 games he has played, he has scored 2442 runs at an average of 22. He cannot fetch the big scores the team wants but can get the team off to a flying start.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore had roped in Patel as a stand-in wicket-keeper for de Kock. Over time, the opener has sealed his spot in the XI replacing de Kock as an opener as well as a wicket-keeper.
Buying Parthiv Patel for 1.7 crores has paid dividends for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
#2 Mayank Markande
Mayank Markande, the 20-year-old leg-spinner has had an impressive debut season playing for the Mumbai Indians. Markande's googlies have been worth the watch.
Even the greatest of batsman have fallen prey to his googlies and stock ball. Markande was bought for a meagre 20 lakhs. Buying Markande has paid dividends for Mumbai Indians as he has become a close contender for the Purple Cap in this season.
He has played a total of 13 matches so far this season and has taken 14 wickets at an impressive economy of 8.26.
It is a surprise to know that Markande had gone unsold in the first round of auction. But Mumbai Indians are fortunate to have signed him during the second round.
#1 Chris Gayle
The reason for RCB not retaining Gayle or no other franchise except KXIP bidding for Gayle still remains a mystery.
The Universal Boss currently holds the record for scoring 8 centuries in the shortest format of the game. Gayle is proclaimed by pundits as T20's Official Brand Ambassador. The fact can be proven extremely true through his mind-blowing T20 stats.
Chris Gayle has played 10 games so far this season and has scored 368 runs at a magnificent average of 46 and a strike rate of 147.20.
Chris Gayle replaced Mayank Agarwal as an opener in their home game against Chennai Super Kings and scored 63 runs off just 33 balls.
Having Gayle on their side at a bargain price of 2 crores, the KXIP fans and the management couldn't have asked for anything better than this.
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