(Online Desk)

Indian opener K L Rahul hit pay dirt with a Rs 11 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab, while controversial England all-rounder Ben Stokes also triggered a bidding war before going to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.50 crore at the IPL auctions, in Bengaluru today.

However, West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle surprisingly went unsold despite his well-established T20 batting credentials. England Test captain Joe Root also went unsold.

Indian batsman Karun Nair, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh, fetched a bid of Rs 5.60 crore from Kings XI Punjab, reaffirming the franchises' interest in Indian players.

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was bought for Rs 9.40 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) while Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) got lucky getting Ravichandran Ashwin for Rs 7.60 crore.

The other big buy among the 16 marquee players was Glenn Maxwell, who was back in the Delhi Daredevils fold after five years for a record Rs 9.40 crore after intense bidding. DD had the last laugh when KXIP refused to use their RTM card.

Delhi Daredevils, however, got their probable captain in Gautam Gambhir for a dirt cheap Rs 2.80 crore while Chennai Super Kings bought Harbhajan Singh at his base price of Rs 2 crore.

Similarly, another veteran Yuvraj Singh got a deal from Kings XI Punjab for Rs 2 crore.