IPL 2016 Mini Auction

Two teams for two seasons

With Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended for 2016 and 2017, the league created two franchises to keep eight teams: Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions. Both picked their core from the suspended squads in a separate draft before the auction, Pune taking MS Dhoni and Gujarat Suresh Raina, then filled out at the auction, where each bought more players than anyone else.

The Negi price

Shane Watson was the most expensive player, bought by Bangalore for ₹9.5 crore, and he justified it with 20 wickets. The auction's talking point was the second name on the list: Delhi paid ₹8.5 crore for Pawan Negi, a left-arm spinning all-rounder just called up to India's T20 squad. He played eight matches that season. Delhi also bought Chris Morris for ₹7 crore and again spent more than any other side.

Hyderabad's title

Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Yuvraj Singh for ₹7 crore and Ashish Nehra for ₹5.5 crore, and won their first title with a side led by David Warner and built on its bowling. The two new franchises are covered on the Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions pages.

Reading the numbers

Delhi were the biggest spenders for the third auction running. The two new franchises, Pune and Gujarat, bought more players than anyone but spent moderate sums, because their stars had come through the draft. Overseas players took less than two fifths of the money, one of the lowest shares of any mini auction in the archive.

Hyderabad, second on spend, won the title, and Gujarat, one of the two newcomers, topped the league table. Kolkata spent the least and still reached the playoffs. Hashim Amla, Michael Hussey and Mahela Jayawardene were among the capped players left unsold, the last two near the end of their careers. Delhi's three years at the top of the spending table had produced no playoff place.