Published: Dec 18, 2018, 03:59 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 18, 2018, 03:59 PM (IST)
The two-Test capped allrounder Hanuma Vihari is the first cricketer to be purchased at the 2019 IPL player auction in Jaipur, going to the rechristened franchise Delhi Capitals for Rs 2 crore from a base price of Rs 50 lakh.
Vihari, who played the Perth Test against Australia, attracted a bidding frenzy from Delhi and Rajasthan Royals initially, before Mumbai Indians joined the fray at Rs 90 lakhs. Rajasthan backed down, but Delhi and Mumbai went hard for Vihari and the hammer finally went down at Rs 2 crore when the latter declined to raise their paddle further.
Vihari, 25, has previously played for Sunrisers Hyderabad for whom he scored 304 runs in 24 innings with a best of 46. In 65 career T20 matches, he has 1291 runs at a strike-rate of 111.12 with four fifties, to go with 21 wickets at an economy rate of 7.31.
