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Simarjeet Singh, Digvesh Rathi become top buys at DPL auction
Delhi Premier League's auction saw Simarjeet Singh as the top buy at ₹39 lakh, followed by Digvesh Rathi at ₹38 lakh, as teams finalize rosters.
New Delhi: As the Delhi Premier League (DPL) prepares for its second season with two more teams, the players’ auction on Sunday saw right-arm pacer Simarjeet Singh, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL this year, emerging as the most expensive buy. Central Delhi Kings secured his services for ₹39 lakh.
Close behind was leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi, who impressed during this year’s IPL with Lucknow Super Giants. He was picked up by Delhi Superstarz for ₹38 lakh, making him the second-highest purchase in the marquee category. The experienced left-handed batter Nitish Rana went to West Delhi Lions for ₹34 lakh while New Delhi Tigers landed right-arm pacer Prince Yadav for ₹33 lakh.
Purani Dilli have retained star wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant while North Delhi Strikers have held on to Harshit Rana. South Delhi Superstarz, last year’s runners-up, retained Ayush Badoni and defending champions East Delhi Riders retained Anuj Rawat. West Delhi Lions chose to retain batter Ayush Doseja and Central Delhi Kings kept Jonty Sidhu.
The two new franchises – Outer Delhi Warriors and New Delhi Tigers – retained Priyansh Arya and Himmat Singh respectively in the draft.
East Delhi Riders exercised their Right to Match (RTM) card to retain the standout of last season’s final, Mayank Rawat, for ₹26 lakh after a fierce bidding war. Vansh Bedi, initially unsold in the marquee category, was brought back in the A category with a revised base price of ₹5 lakh. He was retained by Purani Dilli using their RTM for ₹16 lakh.
Wicketkeeper-batter Tejasvi Dahiya was retained by South Delhi via RTM for ₹13.5 lakh while Central Delhi Kings retained Money Grewal through the same provision. West Delhi Lions used their RTM to bring back Ankit Kumar Rajesh for ₹10 lakh. North Delhi Strikers retained Yajas Sharma for ₹12.5 lakh via RTM.
Aaryavir Sehwag, the elder son of Virender Sehwag, was bought by Central Delhi Kings for ₹8 lakh. Aryaveer Kohli, Virat Kohli’s nephew, was bought by South Delhi Superstarz for ₹1 lakh.
