Auction of glory and ignominy

The glory and ignominy of the Indian Premier League auction were in full swing last night at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Bengaluru.

Englishman Ben Stokes faces a charge of affray next month after an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September, but he also has a prospective haul of $2.7 million at the Indian Premier League in April.

The Rajasthan Royals have hired his all-rounder services as they return to the tournament from a two-season suspension after an illegal betting and match-fixing probe in 2015.

At the time of writing, Stokes had been joined in the “$2 million club” by Indians KL Rahul and Manish Pandey, and Australians Chris Lynn and Mitchell Starc.

Rahul’s batsmanship was secured by the Kings XI Punjab for $2.4 million, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad recruited Pandey for the same figure.

He will be joined by New Zealand captain Kane Williamson who was sold for $641,000.

Lynn, who opens for the Brisbane Heat with Brendon McCullum in the Big Bash League, went to the Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.1 million, as did pace bowling compatriot Mitchell Starc for $2m.

Australian Glenn Maxwell ($1.9m to the Delhi Daredevils), Sanju Samson ($1.7 million to the Rajasthan Royals), Kedar Jadhav ($1.7m to the Chennai Super Kings) and Ravichandran Ashwin ($1.6m to the Kings XI Punjab) were other big earners.

The evening held less joy for the likes of West Indian Chris Gayle, South African Hashim Amla, Englishmen Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, Australians James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson, and Indians Murali Vijay and Ishant Sharma. They were joined by New Zealanders Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Ish Sodhi. When the auctioneer brought their names forward, the room was enveloped by silence as their international records held no sway. All went unsold.