When domestic players were going under the hammer at the 2022 IPL mini-auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23, one little-known name sparked a bidding war.
All-rounder Mayank Dagar with a base price of Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) evoked interest from SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.
SRH were unrelenting in their pursuit and upped their bid to an impressive Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), a jump of 500%.
With Rajasthan not backing down, both teams soon crossed the Rs 1.50 crore (Rs 15 million) mark.
RR pulled out of the race after SRH upped their bid to Rs 1.80 crore (Rs 18 million), letting the hammer drop on their bid for Dagar, who represented India in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016.
A left-arm orthodox bowling all-rounder for Himachal Pradesh, Dagar, 26, had landed an IPL contract with Punjab Kings in 2018, but didn't have any playing time.
After four years in the IPL wilderness, Dagar put his hat in the ring this season. His 87 wickets in 29 first class matches and 44 wickets in 44 domestic T20 outings was one reason for the bidding war at the auction.
One of the fittest players around, Dagar reportedly beat Virat Kohli in the yo-yo test score back in 2018. A relative of triple Test tonner Virender Sehwag, Dagar will be an asset to SRH who are desperate to erase their paltry recent record and win another IPL title.
