Jaydev Unadkat was bought back by the Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2020 auction on Thursday.

This was the ninth time the left-arm pacer was bought by a franchise at the IPL auctions.

On this occasion, the Royals, who had released him before the auction, bought him back at Rs 3 crore, outbidding Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab. Before IPL XIII, Unadkat was sold back to the Royals for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore.

Prior to that, he was the most expensive Indian player sold in the 2018 auction, again bought by the Royals for Rs 11.5 crore.

According to the Royals, releasing Unadkat and then buying him back was all a part of their plan. “We are really pleased to have Jaydev back in our squad for the upcoming season. We could not retain him, but had planned to get him back,” Zubin Bharucha, head of cricket for the Royals, told The Telegraph.

“He was the only experienced Indian pacer available at the auction and after a tough bidding battle, we managed to get him. His performances during the latter stages of the IPL last season were brilliant as he helped us win matches, including a Man-of-the-Match performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and he had been working with us on various aspects of his game during the off-season.

“He knows the franchise inside out, therefore we are really looking forward to have him help our team again.”

The Royals’ chief owner Manoj Badale said: “Jaydev is one of India’s finest quick bowlers. His was a specific slot. He works well with our captain and fits really well.

“We were lucky with our overseas players. We have a couple of important slots to fill, particularly around Indian quick bowlers.”

The next edition of the IPL will be Unadkat’s third season in a row with the Royals.

The Royals were also bullish on young top-order batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal, who once sold paanipuri to make a living in Mumbai. They got Yashasvi at Rs 2.4 crore and pacer Kartik Tyagi (1.3 crore), both members of the U-19 World Cup squad.

“They are players who we think can play a very important role for Royals over the next four-five years. There is a lot of money in the room spent on very small number of players, therefore the inflated prices.

“I think that’s tough for some of the young players, though it might be good for their family. But it is tough for them in terms of pressure, so you have to be clear with them that it’s a three to four-year journey,” Badale explained.