Karnataka Premier League 2018: Auction Live Updates

Thank you for tuning in to Sportskeeda for the auction. We'll be back with comprehensive coverage of the KPL, throughout the season.
Till then, it's a goodbye from Aadya Sharma.

This concludes the player auction for Karnataka Premier League 2018.

They go back and collect Krishnappa Gowtham for Rs. 25,000.

Mysuru Warriors have Rs. 35,000 left in their balance and still have three players to add to their roster.

All the teams, barring Mysuru Warriors, have completed their quota of 18 players.

Little-known Swapnil Yelave, who played a handful of games for the Hubli Tigers last year, is poached by the Ballari Tuskers for Rs.3,50,000, a huge leap from his base price of Rs. 20,000.

Belagavi Panthers bag Sadiq Kirmani, previously unsold, for Rs. 25,000.

The Expression of Interest will be in action now - names of players, who the franchises wish to bid for, have been submitted, and will now be up for grabs.

We're back for the final session of the Karnataka Premier League 2018 player auction.

Prasidh Krishna, who came to the limelight this time in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders, is purchased by the Mysuru Warriors for Rs. 35,000.

Mayank Agarwal gets a bidder - Hubli Tigers willing to pay Rs. 25,000 for him, despite a big question mark over his availability.

Abbas is sold for Rs. 3,00,000 to the Bijapur Bulls.

Mir Kaunain Abbas, who was unsold in the first round, gets bidders this time. There's a lot of back and forth bidding, with the Hubli Tigers and Bijapur Bulls chasing him side by side.

Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, R Samarth are unsold, again.

We're back to Pool A players who were unsold. The minimum bid is Rs. 25,000.

Rakshit S betters his last year's price of Rs. 1,00,000, and is poached by the Belagavi Panthers for Rs. 1,80,000.

29-year-old Sadiq Kirmani, son of the legendary Syed Kirmani, is UNSOLD.

We're on to the wicket-keepers in pool B.

5 lakh barrier breached! Mohanram Nidesh, who played for the Bijapur Bulls last year, and is the overall eight highest run-getter in the history of KPL, garners a lot of buzz, as expected. He's given a massive hike from his base price of Rs. 20,000, and is eventually sold to the Belagavi Panthers for Rs. 5.85 lakh.

Keeper-batsman KB Pawan, who started at the base price of Rs. 20,000, manages to pocket Rs. 4.55 lakh after an intense war between Bengaluru Blasters and Hubli Tigers that goes on for a good 15 minutes. The Blasters have the last laugh.

Jackpot! Jonathan R, who went for a bid of Rs. 3.50 lakh in 2016, bags another massive deal, going for a whopping Rs. 5,45,000 to the Shivamogga Lions.

28-year-old Arjun Hoysala, who made his Karnataka debut in the 2016-17 season, warms up the auction action with a meaty bid that goes past Rs. 3 Lakh. He's sold to Mysuru Warriors for Rs. 3,10,000.

Welcome back! This is Aadya Sharma for Sportskeeda, back from the venue of the KPL 2018 auctions. Charu Sharma, the auctioneer for the day, returns to resume the proceedings for the remainder of Pool B.

We're going to take a short break in the Pool B bidding, with the end of the all-rounders category. The batsmen category is up next.

There's a surprise! Melu Kranthi Kumar, who went for Rs. 1.8 lakh to the Hubli Tigers last year, gets quite a bump in his price. He goes to Hubli Tigers (again) for Rs. 3,50,000 this time. He's picked up 26 wickets in 28 games so far.

32-year-old Rajoo Bhatkal, who played a solitary game for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL way back in 2012, is sold to the Mysuru Warriors for his base price of Rs. 20,000.

At Rs. 1,55,000, he's sold to the Mysuru Warriors.

33-year-old Shoaib Manager, who has played only a handful of matches for Karnataka, but was in fluent form during the KPL last year, finishing as the fourth-highest run-getter, is also garnering interest from the franchises.

Suneel Raju is sold to the Bijapur Bulls for Rs. 3,50,000. This is one of the more expensive buys of Pool B.

29-year-old Suneel Raju, the off-spinning all-rounder, is being furiously pursued by the Bijapur Bulls. The bid has crossed Rs. 3 lakh, but the Vinay Kumar-led Hubli Tigers aren't giving in yet.

POOL B's spinners category ends. The all-rounders are next.

Leg-spinner Kishore Kamath is back to create a buzz in the auctions. He was one of the surprise elements in the IPL 2016 auctions, acquired by the Mumbai Indians for a mind-boggling Rs. 1.4 crore.

At Rs.1,50,000, he's sold to the Shivamogga Lions for KPL 2018.

Another left-arm spinner, KP Appanna, is also the centre of an intense bidding war. At Rs. 3,85,000, he is sold to the Bijapur Bulls.
He's picked up 22 wickets in 20 games in the KPL till date, and has also played in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In his IPL career, he's taken nine wickets from 14 games, spread across three seasons (2009,2010,2012).

Left arm-spinner Abrar Kazi, famous in the Karnataka cricketing circles, seems to be looting purses at the moment. He's sold for Rs. 3,50,000 to Ballari Tuskers, quite a jump from his base price of Rs. 20,000.

Costliest players so far:

Rs. 8.30 lakh - Abhimanyu Mithun
Rs. 7.90 lakh - Robin Uthappa
Rs. 7.60 lakh - Amit Verma

Hegde is sold to Belagavi Panthers (again) for Rs. 3.05 lakh.

Sportskeeda had caught up with him during KPL 2017. You can read his interview here:
https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/interview-turning-heads-16-young-shubhang-hegde-gem-for-future-kpl-2017

Shubhang Hedge, the teenage left-arm spinner who played for the Belagavi Panthers last year, and one of the brightest young all-rounders in Karnataka junior domestic cricket, is making heads turn again. He's only 17, he's already gone over 10 times his base price, and the bidding still continues to go strong for him.

Akshay SL was the biggest buy in the POOL B fast bowlers. The 31-year-old went for Rs. 2.2 Lakhs to the Ballari Tuskers.

The first category - 'fast bowlers' ends with 10 players. The auction now moves to 'spinners'.

The 1 Lakh barrier is breached by Zahoor Farooqui and Vidyadhar Patil. They get sold for Rs. 1.6 lakh and Rs. 1.3 lakh to Bijapur Bulls and Hubli Tigers respectively.

Bidding for POOL B players begins. They are base-priced at Rs. 20,000, with initial increments of 5. The first category is fast bowlers.

Update: POOL 'A' ENDS. There has been a lot of action in the first segment of the auctions - Abhimanyu Mithun went for a record-breaking amount, Robin Uthappa, making a comeback, came close to his figure. Krishnappa Gowtham, Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth remained unsold.

The Shivamogga Lions believe that Gopal will be available for the tournament. They make the opening bid, but no one else reciprocates.
They end up retracting their bid, and Gopal is UNSOLD.

Shreyas Gopal, who represented the Rajasthan Royals this year in the IPL, is base-priced at Rs. 50,000.

BR Sharath - Rs. 1,30,000 and Ritesh Bhatkal Rs. 1,70,000 are the respective buys for Shivamogga Lions and Ballari Tuskers.

23-year-old bowler T Pradeep is acquired by Ballari Tuskers for Rs. 6,50,000

At Rs. 7,90,000 - the Bengaluru Blasters poach Robin Uthappa!

The Bengaluru Blasters are in at Rs. 6.5 lakhs. The Bijapur Bulls, however, don't seem to be giving in yet.

Uthappa did not take part in the KPL last year owing to the birth of his child. This year, he replaced Karun Nair in the auctions. Nair has been selected for the Indian Test squad for their England tour.

Karnataka Premier League 2018: Auction Live Updates - Mithun, Uthappa most expensive