Jan. 12: The two-day hectic bidding for the players in the Indian Premier League auction might be over but a scramble to grab the uncapped players has begun between the 10 franchises. The Rajasthan Royals have been the first franchisee to officially sign on five uncapped players — Deepak Chahar, Aakash Chopra, Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik and Ajinkya Rahane from Mumbai.
The Royals had retained Shane Warne and Shane Watson before picking up Kiwi Ross Taylor and former India skipper Rahul Dravid in the auction. With the Rajasthan team making their way from the Plate League to the Ranji Trophy final, the domestic players from the team are being sought after by every franchise.
Their new ball pair of Pankaj Singh and Chahar, in his first Ranji season, have been top wicket-takers this season with 41 and 33 wickets till date respectively. Menaria, the former India U-19 skipper, has been battling a back injury but recovered well enough to score 272 runs at an average of 90 in the last two matches.
One of the biggest gains for Rajasthan this season has been the addition of former Delhi opener Chopra, who has tallied 729 runs so far this year.
“Domestic performances is a major criterion for selecting the uncapped. It bodes well for us that Rajasthan have performed so well in the Ranji Trophy and we are more than happy to bring in these players,” Royals CEO Sean Morris told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, Shane Warne’s discovery in the IPL, fast bowler Kamran Khan, will play for the Sahara Pune Warriors.
“I have signed the contract with Pune. I will miss Shane (Warne) but I guess a new team will provide me the opportunity to play more matches,” Khan said.