On the second day of the IPL auction on Sunday (February 13), Punjab Kings opened the treasury for England’s Liam Livingstone. Punjab paid Rs 11.50 crore for Livingstone, which had a base price of Rs 1 crore. However, Eoin Morgan, England’s World Cup-winning captain who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the final last year, was unable to find a buyer. Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s Test batsman, pacer Ishant Sharma, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, and Australia’s limited-overs captain Aaron Finch were all left unsold.
Apart from Finch, Morgan, and Pujara, none of the world’s best T20 batsmen, including England’s David Malan, Australia’s Marnash Labuschagne, India’s Saurabh Tiwary, New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham, and England’s Chris Jordan, were purchased on the second day. Neesham and Saurabh Tiwari were members of the Mumbai Indians last season. Malan was also a member of the Punjab Kings at the time.
Finch has participated in the IPL with the 00 team.
Aaron Finch has represented Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Pune Warriors India, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), and Royal Challengers Bangalore in ODI and T20 cricket. Last year’s auction resulted in Finch’s failure to find a buyer.
Chennai purchased Pujara last year.
Cheteshwar Pujara was purchased by Chennai Super Kings for a base price of 50 lakhs last year. In the IPL, Pujara has played for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings), and Chennai Super Kings. After a hiatus in 2014, he returned to the IPL last year. Everyone in the auction hall applauded when Chennai bought him.