The 10th edition of the IPL auction took place at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bengaluru, and it was full of surprises. While some big names remained unsold, a few relatively uncommon names bagged big deals. And one such name was Aniket Choudhary.
The Rajasthan pacer is generating a lot of buzz these days. A couple of days ago, Aniket was in the news for bowling to the Indian batsmen in the nets to prepare them for Australian bowlers, especially Mitchell Starc. He is even travelling with the Indian team and is currently in Pune, where the first Test between India and Australia will be played.
Adding to his joy, the 27-year-old has been bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping Rs. 2 crore.
“I was bowling to Virat Kohli in the nets when the Indian team manager came and informed me that I was brought by RCB for 2 crore. Fast bowling ki poori thakaan utar gayi yeh news se (the tiredness of fast bowling went away with the news),” an elated Aniket told Sportskeeda.
Surprisingly, when we spoke to Aniket last week and asked him which IPL team he would like to play for, the now-RCB bowler had expressed his desire to play for the franchise that picked him.
“I had no expectations of being sold at a price anywhere even close to 2cr. But I was hopeful of being a part of the IPL this year. I wanted to play for RCB and they signed me so I am very happy.”
Another top buy by the Vijay Mallya-owned franchise was England’s quick Tymal Mills, who was brought for Rs. 12 crore, the second highest bid after that of Ben Stokes, who went to Rising Pune Super Giants for Rs. 14.5 crore.
“Tymal Mills has a lot of experience. He is a left-arm fast bowler and a T20 specialist, so I will get to learn a lot from him,” Choudhary added.
While the Royal Challengers may not have had a very happening auction, a look at their squad shows that they have a balanced side. From Chris Gayle to Virat Kohli and Ab de Villers, and from Shane Watson to Tymal Mills, the team composition has all its departments sorted.
Along with Aniket and Mills, the franchise also signed Pawan Negi, Praveen Dubey and Australian fast bowler Billy Stanlake.
The cash-rich T20 league will kick off at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on April 6, and the first encounter will be between the defending champions, Sunrises Hyderabad, and the runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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