Kapil Dev would have got 25 crores in IPL auction: Sunil Gavaskar

IPL Auction 2019: Gavaskar felt that India’s first world cup winning Kapil Dev would have attracted a bid of 25 crores in the IPL had he been playing now.

Seeing the current lot of players going for crores in the IPL 2019 auctions, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels the superstars of his generation would have minted the same if not more had T20 leagues like IPL existed in their time.

The first cricketer that came to his mind who could have beaten everyone in fetching the highest amount in an IPL auction was Kapil Dev. Gavaskar felt that India’s first world cup winning Kapil Dev would have attracted a bid of 25 crores in the IPL had he been playing now.

“Kapil Dev would have gone for 25 crores in the IPL auctions,” Gavaskar told Aaj Tak after the IPL 2019 auctions concluded in Jaipur on Tuesday.

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To justify his claims, Gavaskar cited Kapil Dev’s brilliant 175-run inning in the semi-final of the 1983 World Cup against Zimbabwe. “That 175 is the greatest knock in ODI history I have seen as a player and as a commentator… I have never seen a better inning. The situation we were in…We were 17 for 5. It was cold and the ball was moving. It looked like we would be bowled out for 70 or 80. Kapil did not play any lofted drives until he reached 80. It was amazing to see him those sixes,” Gavaskar said.

To bring Gavaskar’s claims about Kapi Dev into perspective, the highest ever bid a player has got in the IPL, is 16 crores. Delhi Daredevils had spent the mind-boggling sum for Yuvraj Singh in the 2015 IPL auction.

In the latest IPL auction that took place last night, two Indian cricketers – Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy – attracted the highest bids in the auction. Both of them went for a whopping 8.40 cores. While Unadkat returned to Rajasthan Royals, rookie Tamil Nadu mystery spinner Chakravarthy was picked up by Kings XI Punjab after a fierce bidding war that saw as many as five different franchises bidding for the 28-year-old.

Among the overseas player, England’s Sam Curran emerged the highest pick. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 7.2 crores.