Stokes leads the way as Rahul and Pandey lead Indian money list

Bengaluru, January 27: England's all-rounder Ben Stokes hit the jackpot after being bought by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction on Saturday, despite uncertainty over his availability.

The Royals' winning bid was still less than the record Rs 14.5 crore price Rising Pune Supergiant paid for him last season.

Other top buys of the day include the leading Karnataka pair of KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab) and Manish Pandey (Sunrisers Hyderabad) who both went for Rs 11 crore , much above their base price.

Australians Chrys Lynn (9.6 cr) and Mitchell Starc (9.4 cr), who were snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders rounded of the top five buys of the day.

Stokes topped the bids, even though it is not certain that the England all-rounder will be able to play in the lucrative tournament after he was charged with affray following a fight outside a nightclub in Bristol last year.

The 26-year-old is due to appear in court on February 13 after being charged over the incident.

The IPL will run from April 7 to May 27.

One of the best performers last season, Stokes attracted bids from several franchises in the eight-team Twenty20 league before the gavel finally came down on Rajasthan.
The Royals are returning to the competition after a two-year ban for match-fixing.

The left-arm paceman missed the 2016 edition because of injury, and opted out of the last season.

A total of 578 players are up for auction this season.

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