BENGALURU: At the end of the last IPL auction, players like pacer Jaydev Unadkat and off-spinner K Gowtham hit pay dirt as franchises upped the stakes to buy them. This year, the two players, who figured in the auction on the second day, took massive pay cuts.
Left-arm Saurashtra pacer Unadkat, who was snapped up for Rs 11.5 crore by Rajasthan Royals in 2018, saw his stock fall to Rs 8.5 crore last year but stayed with Rajasthan. This time, he was bought by Mumbai but with a massive dip in his salary, which stands at Rs 1.3 crore.
It was worse for Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham, who in 2021 became the highest paid uncapped Indian player, going to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 9.25 crore. The 33-year-old, who earned his India cap last year, had to settle for Rs 90 lakh (base price Rs 50 lakh) offered by Lucknow Super Giants.
On the opening day, Manish Pandey took the biggest pay cut, going for Rs 4.6 crore to Lucknow after Sunrisers Hyderabad had paid Rs 11 crore earlier. David Warner (Rs 12.5 crore, SRH) too saw a fall in his salary as he settled for Rs 6.25 crore from Delhi Capitals. Not to forget Pat Cummins, whose pay package was more than halved from Rs 15.5 crore to Rs. 7.25 crore.
