All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opened the bidding for Gowtham at his base price of Rs 20 lakh but was eventually picked by CSK for Rs 9.25 cr.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders were locked in an intense bidding war for Gowtham after his name was announced at the auction.
CSK joined the bidding war late and started with the first bid of Rs 7.75 crore. They eventually beat Sunrisers Hyderabad to the signing of the Karnataka all-rounder for Rs 9.25 crore.
Gowtham becomes the costliest uncapped Indian at Rs 9.25 cr. He goes past Krunal Pandya's 2018 bid of 8.8 cr.
He was part of the Punjab Kings squad last season but was released by the franchise ahead of the auction.
Gowtham is the second all-rounder bought by the CSK in the IPL 2021 Auction, with England's Moeen Ali being the first buy of the franchise.
Also, Uncapped player Shahrukh Khan was bagged by Punjab Kings. Shahrukh had his base price of Rs 20 lakh but he went to Punjab Kings for Rs 5.25 crore. Delhi Capitals, RCB, and Punjab Kings all made the bids for him, but in the end, the winning bid was made by Punjab Kings.
Shahrukh was in remarkable form in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and he made a major hand in Tamil Nadu winning the title for the second time.
