Muristek
Bengaluru, February 13
Punjab Kings decided to break the bank to sign England's T20 specialist Liam Livingstone, paying Rs 11.50 crore for him, while Mumbai Indians, purely based on a leap of faith, paid Rs 8 crore for an injured Jofra Archer despite his unavailability for the 2022 edition of the IPL.
Livingstone was the biggest overseas buy and the fourth biggest overall.
Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani confirmed that Archer won't play this edition.
The two-day auction ended with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings making the hefty pay-outs.
Punjab Kings also used their deep pockets to pick up West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith for Rs 6 crore. He was impressive in the recent ODI series against India. Sunrisers weren't going to be left behind, roping in Romario Shepherd, the CPL sensation from West Indies, for Rs 7.75 crore based on his all-round skills.
IPL: auction figures
Total Money SpentRs5,51,70,00,000Rs5.51 billion
Total players sold: 204 (Overseas 67)
Punjab KingsLiam Livingstone Rs11.50 cr
Unsold players
Steve SmithSteve Smith, Dawid Malan, Suresh Raina, Eoin Morgan, Adam Zampa, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Ishant Sharma, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Finch, Saurabh Tiwary, Tabraiz Shamsi, Piyush Chawla, Pawan Negi, Martin Guptill —