Valenteens Day: Under-19 World Cup stars Bawa, Hangargekar become millionaires, Dhull sold to Delhi

Bawa was bought by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for Rs 2 crore while Hangargekar was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Rs 1.5 crore. Meanwhile, Dhull was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 50 lakh. Bawa produced a match-winning all-round show in the final against England – where he first bagged a five-wicket haul and followed it up by scoring 35 runs in the middle-order off 54 balls.

Bawa also struck the highest individual score by an individual in the tournament – a magnificent 162-run knock against Uganda. Dhull, on the other hand, led India brilliantly despite contracting COVID as a result of which he had to miss a couple of matches in the beginning of the tournament.

In the semi-final against Australia, Dhull led from the front as he smashed a match-winning hundred to take the Men in Blue in the final. Hangargekar’s pace was also one of the talking points in the U-19 World Cup. Many experts touted him as one for the future during the tournament.

CSK spent heavily (4 crore) on big-hitting batting all-rounder Shivam Dube but got New Zealander Devon Conway for a steal amount of Rs 1 crore and little known Sri Lankan spinner Mahesh Theeksana. It has its core in place and Dhoni will perhaps depend on Adam Milne to do the job alongside Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja.

Punjab decided to break the bank to sign England’s T20 specialist Liam Livingstone, paying a staggering Rs 11.50 crore, while Mumbai Indians paid a whopping Rs 8 crore for an injured Jofra Archer despite his unavailability for the 2022 edition. Having roped in Livingstone, Punjab also used its deep pockets to pick up West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith for Rs 6 crore. He was impressive in the recently concluded ODI series against India.

Sunrisers Hyderabad wasn’t going to be left behind in bidding frenzy, roping in Romario Shepherd for Rs 7.75 crore based on his all-round skills.

Having lost pacer Kagiso Rabada on the first day to a rampaging Punjab, Delhi Capitals invested 5.25 crore on Khaleel Ahmed and Rs 4.20 crore on left-armer Chetan Sakariya.

Mumbai’s x-factor player certainly was Singapore international of Australian origin, Tim David, who was bought for Rs 8.25 crore. David, who has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, is an all-rounder but known more for his big-hitting abilities.

In terms of bowling talent, Rajasthan Royals has the best resources with Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal as spinners along with Prasidh Krishna and Trent Boult as its first choice pacers. The only weak link is lack of a genuine all-rounder.