Going into the mega auction, Kolkata Knight Riders had set their sights on an Indian captain since an overseas cricketer may not be always available owing to his country’s national commitments. The two-time IPL champions managed to rope in Shreyas Iyer for Rs 12.25 crore on Saturday after an intense bidding process which involved several franchises.

This was after they successfully bid for former Knight Pat Cummins for Rs 7.25 crore as a backup option. They also regained the services of Nitish Rana for Rs 8 crore, Shivam Mavi for Rs 7.25 crore and Sheldon Jackson for Rs 60 lakh late in the day when home-grown stars called the shots.

Venky Mysore, the Knight Riders CEO, is known to plan his strategy judiciously and seemed set on picking Shreyas. With this being the last mega auction for quite sometime at least, Mysore knew he had to bet big on some players for the long term. Even a modest Rs 48-crore purse didn’t stop him from leaving the bidding war in Shreyas’s case.

The Knight Riders’ table included the children of the co-owners — Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan, daughter Suhana and Jay Mehta’s daughter Jahnavi — though the planning was mostly done by Mysore, bowling coach Bharat Arun and assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Head coach Brendon McCullum connected on the hotline from New Zealand.

Mysore though steered clear of the captaincy riddle. He said that the franchise had expected to “go higher” on Cummins, and called Shreyas Iyer a part of the team’s “very long term plans in terms of our thinking”.

“That’s (the captaincy) a decision the coach and the think-tank will take,” he told the official broadcasters. “I think we need to just digest the activity of today and tomorrow (Sunday) and take stock. Between Cummins and Shreyas, we have got solid options.”

On a day when Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians concentrated on getting back their former players, Knight Riders went about plugging the holes after having retained Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine. They needed batters, pacers and a wicketkeeper.

Having confirmed Cummins, Shreyas Iyer and Rana, Knight Riders were left with only Rs 20.5 crore in their kitty. They didn’t go for an Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar or Shardul Thakur who were expected to be expensive and instead concentrated on the lesser-known players. In a desperate bid, they reclaimed pacer Mavi in the evening session.

Even Harshal Patel didn’t evoke any response from the Knights’ camp. Harshal, the highest wicket-taker and one of the stars of the last IPL, was lapped up by the team he was part of, Royal Challengers Bangalore, who staved off interest from Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad to pocket him at Rs 10.75 crore.

Given the circumstances, it is likely that the Knight Riders will aim for some of the members of India’s U-19 World Cup winning squad on Sunday. Besides making a good investment in the promising youngsters, it could also prove to be light on their budget.

The Knight Riders will also have to look out for a wicketkeeper on the final day of the auction. Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha have gone unsold in the first round and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they decide to include one of them. Not wanting to take any chances, they bought Saurashtra’s Jackson.

The franchise has picked nine players so far, including the retentions, and has only Rs 12.65 crore left. They will need a sharp gameplan to build the remaining core of the team, including the backups.

Meet the 10-crore club

Ishan Kishan

Rs 15.25 crore — MI

The bidding for this wicketkeeper-batsman was as aggressive and exciting as his batting. Mumbai Indians were adamant to get their player back, at any cost if one may say so, but Sunrisers Hyderabad, powered by their fat purse, were hot in pursuit as well. The Jharkhand player’s price, starting from the base amount of Rs 2-crore, shot past the Rs 5 crore mark in no time as the franchises kept putting their paddle up for him. Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans were also interested in him, but in the end it was a battle between Mumbai and Sunrisers. And once he was pocketed, the joy in the Mumbai camp made their desperation clear. The 23-year-old turned out to be the king of Saturday’s auction and while there is no doubting the talent of this diminutive left-handed batsman, he sure will be carrying an Everest of expectations on his shoulders in IPL 2022.

Deepak Chahar

Rs 14cr — CSK

A Powerplay bowling expert, master in giving breakthroughs and a handy batsman as well, Chahar (base price Rs 2 crore) looks a deserving candidate in the elite club.

Nicholas Pooran

Rs 10.75cr — SRH

The Caribbean T20 star (base price Rs 1.5 crore), who can also keep wickets, didn’t quite light up the IPL sky in his previous stints.

Wanindu Hasaranga

Rs 10.75cr — RCB

The demand for this Sri Lankan leg-spinner (base price Rs 1 crore) surprised all. But he is known to be a performer, flourishing particularly in the last 18 months. He bats decently as well.

Harshal Patel

Rs 10.75cr — RCB

The Bangalore franchise did not want to lose their death-bowling expert. But is he worth that much?

Shardul Thakur

Rs 10.75cr — Delhi

The all-rounder (base price Rs 2 crore) is considered precious by many experts.

Lockie Ferguson

Rs 10cr — Gujarat Titans

The New Zealander (base price Rs 2 crore) possesses scorching pace and was quite effective while playing for KKR previously.

Prasidh Krishna

Rs 10cr — Royals

The man in form. Prasidh (base price Rs 1 crore) impressed one and all with his bowling in recent times.

Avesh Khan

Rs 10cr — Lucknow

The biggest gainer of Saturday. The pacer, with a base price of just Rs 20 lakh, stunned all as the Lucknow franchise went all out for him.

Note: The list does not include KKR players

Knights’ Army

The Kolkata Knight Riders made some big purchases on the opening day of the IPL mega auction. Have they spent wisely?

Shreyas Iyer

Rs 12.25 crore

Shreyas (base price Rs 2cr) was the first member of the Rs 10-crore club on Saturday. As was expected, the middle-order batsman triggered a bidding war between teams. He is also seen as a captaincy candidate, though the Knights can also consider Pat Cummins for that role. Iyer is a long-term investment for the franchise.

Opinion: Good buy

Pat Cummins

Rs 7.25 crore

The Australian (base price Rs 2cr) had served the Knights well and so it was no surprise that they got him back. According to KKR CEO Venky Mysore, the franchise was ready to pay even a higher price for the top pacer. He was bought by KKR for Rs 15.5 crore last time. Like Iyer, he too is captaincy material. He knows how to swing the bat too.

Opinion: Good buy

Nitish Rana

Rs 8 crore

An aggressive top-order batsman, Rana (base price Rs 1cr) seems to be the franchise’s favourite as they chose to buy him back. He had joined KKR in 2018 and was released only before this auction. He scored 383 runs from 17 games in the last IPL and had a decent strike rate of 121.97. His price tag though says he has to do more.

Opinion: Jury out

Shivam Mavi

Rs 7.25 crore

The 23-year-old (base price Rs 40 lakh) pacer has been bought back by KKR for a big amount. He hasn’t been a regular fixture in the team, but has raw pace to flaunt.

Opinion: Over-priced

Sheldon Jackson

Rs 60 lakh

An old Knight — he was first signed by KKR in 2009 — Jackson (base price Rs 30 lakh) is a right-handed batsman who can also keep wickets. But till date, he has played only four IPL games.

Opinion: Good buy

Cash spent on Saturday: Rs 77.35cr (including retentions) |Purse left for Sunday: Rs 12.65cr

Who Goes Where

IPL Team chart except Kolkata Knight Riders at the end of Day 1

RCB

• Virat Kohli (R): 15
• Josh Hazlewood: 7.75
• Dinesh Karthik: 5.5
• Glenn Maxwell (R): 11
• Harshal Patel: 10.75
• Faf du Plessis: 7
• Wanindu Hasaranga: 10.75
• Md Siraj (R): 7
• Shahbaz Ahmed: 2.40
• Anuj Rawat: 3.40
• Akash Deep: 20 lakh

Purse left: Rs 9.25cr

Punjab Kings

• Rahul Chahar: 5.25
• Arshdeep Singh (R): 4
• Shikhar Dhawan: 8.25
• Jonny Bairstow: 6.75
• Mayank Agarwal (R): 12
• Kagiso Rabada: 9.25
• Shahrukh Khan: 9
• Harpreet Brar: 3.80
• Prabhsimran Singh: 60 lakh
• Jitesh Sharma: 20 lakh
• Ishan Porel: 25 lakh

Purse left: Rs 28.65cr

CSK

• Ruturaj Gaikwad (R): 6
• Ravindra Jadeja (R): 16
• MS Dhoni (R): 12
• Ambati Rayudu: 6.75
• Robin Uthappa: 2
• Deepak Chahar: 14
• Dwayne Bravo: 4.4
• Moeen Ali (R): 8
• KM Asif: 20 lakh
• Tushar Deshpande: 20 lakh

Purse left: Rs 20.45cr

DC

• Prithvi Shaw (R): 7.5
• David Warner: 6.25
• Mitchell Marsh: 6.5
• Mustafizur Rahman: 2
• Shardul Thakur: 10.75
• Anrich Nortje (R): 6.5
• Axar Patel (R): 9
• Kuldeep Yadav: 2
• Sarfaraz Khan: 20 lakh
• Ashwin Hebbar: 20 lakh
• Rishabh Pant (R): 16
• Kamlesh Nagarkoti: 1.10
• KS Bharat: 2

Purse left: Rs 16.5cr

RR

• Riyan Parag: 3.8
• Devdutt Padikkal: 7.75
• Yashasvi Jaiswal (R): 4
• R. Ashwin: 5
• Trent Boult: 8
• Jos Buttler (R): 10
• Sanju Samson (R): 14
• Yuzvendra Chahal: 6.5
• Shimron Hetmyer: 8.5
• Prasidh Krishna: 10
• KC Cariappa: 30 lakh

Purse left: Rs 12.15cr

MI

• Dewald Brevis: 3
• Kieron Pollard (R): 6
• Rohit Sharma (R): 16
• Suryakumar Yadav (R): 8
• Jasprit Bumrah (R): 12
• Ishan Kishan: 15.25
• Basil Thampi: 30 lakh
• Murugan Ashwin: 1.6

Purse left: Rs 27.85cr

SRH

• Priyam Garg: 20 lakh
• Abhishek Sharma: 6.5
• Abdul Samad (R): 4
• Umran Malik (R): 4
• Kane Williamson (R): 14
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4.2
• Rahul Tripathi: 8.5
• Nicholas Pooran: 10.75
• Washington Sundar: 8.75
• T. Natarajan: 4
• Kartik Tyagi: 4
• Shreyas Gopal: 75 lakh
• J. Suchith: 20 lakh

Purse left: Rs 20.15cr

Lucknow Super Giants

• Ravi Bishnoi*: 4
• Manish Pandey: 4.6
• Marcus Stoinis*: 9.2
• Mark Wood: 7.5
• Quinton de Kock: 6.75
• Jason Holder: 8.75
• KL Rahul*: 17
• Krunal Pandya: 8.25
• Deepak Hooda: 8.75
• Avesh Khan: 10
• AS Rajpoot: 50 lakh

Purse left: Rs 6.9cr

Gujarat Titans

• Shubman Gill*: 8
• Jason Roy: 2
• Rahul Tewatia: 9
• Md Shami: 6.25
• Lockie Ferguson: 10
• Hardik Pandya*: 15
• M. Abhinav: 2.6
• Rashid Khan*: 15
• Noor Ahmad: 30 lakh
• R. Sai Kishore: 3

Purse left: Rs 18.85cr