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Punjab Kings secured a move for South African hard-hitting all-rounder Marco Jansen, while Krunal Pandya found a new home with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Notably, the familiar face of the cash-rich league, Shardul Thakur, didn't find a bidder for himself and went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction on Monday.
In the set for capped all-rounders, surprises were on the cards, with some of the top starts being cashed in for bargain and some finding no bidders despite their reputed stints in the cash-rich league. The first name to pop up was the seasoned star Shardul Thakur, who featured for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024. Even though he didn't have one of the best seasons in the cash-rich league, there were expectations to see paddle being raised for him. However, surprisingly, no bids came for him by any franchise, which resulted in Shardul going unsold. Washington Sundar, who is currently involved in India's ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, initially didn't see any bids coming for him. The awkward silence was broken after Ashish Nehra consulted around the table, and Gujarat Titans decided to make the first bid. Lucknow Super Giants decided to step in as the bid steadily gained pace. GT led with a bid of Rs 3.2 crore, which turned out to be the decisive price. South Africa's explosive all-rounder Marco Jansen's name entered the mega auction with a base price of Rs 1.25 crore. Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings engaged in a fierce bidding war, with paddles being raised within the blink of an eye. MI decided to drop out, and GT stepped in to mark the beginning of another intense battle. Paddles were lifted quickly as the bid zoomed past Rs 5 crore. GT were resilient, but PBKS were sturdy as they raised the bid to Rs 7 crore. Following this, GT decided to back out, which sealed Jansen's move from Sunrisers Hyderabad to the north. New Zealand powerhouse Daryl Mitchell, an established power-packed performer, saw no bids raised for him and went unsold. Krunal Pandya, a household name in the cash-rich league, saw interest from Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals. With both sides showing no signs of backing, RCB eventually outbid RR to secure Pandya's services for Rs 5.75 crore. After missing out on Pandya, RR quickly shifted its focus to former Knight Rider Nitish Rana with a base price of Rs 1.50 crore to bolster its batting unit. CSK made the first move for Rana, with RR joining the mix. CSK fell out, but RCB came to sweep the player away. RR cleared their intentions of bringing Rana to Rajasthan and sealed the deal with Rs 4.2 crore bid. West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope was the final player of the set and went unsold. (ANI)
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