IPL Auction 2018: Uncapped Chakravarthy, Unadkat rake in big money; Yuvraj unsold
Jaipur, Dec 18: Unheralded architect-turned-cricketer Varun Chakravarthy Tuesday fetched a sensational bid of Rs 8.4 crore, more than 40 times his base price, but veteran Yuvraj Singh went unsold in an IPL players' auction that had an unmissable Caribbean flavour to it.
Chakravarthy, with a base price of Rs 20 lakh, went to Kings XI Punjab after a bidding war that also involved Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
KXIP also spent big on England all-rounder Sam Curran, buying him for Rs 7.2 crore.
Medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat became a millionaire once again with a Rs 8.4 crore bid from Rajasthan Royals but the spotlight was firmly on Chakravarthy, the 27-year-old mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu who gave up a career as freelance architect to pursue cricket.
"We always knew that we will break the wall for him," said KXIP CEO Satish Menon.
Chakravarthy has risen to prominence owing to a strong showing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He has been widely credited for Madurai Panthers maiden TNPL title win this year.
Unadkat, on the other hand, is back in the RR fold after being released at the end of the 2018 season. He had been bought for Rs 11.5 crore by RR earlier this year. On Tuesday, the Royals lapped him up him after a bidding battle with KXI, CSK and Delhi Capitals.
Capped Indian players were in demand and so were the West Indians before a 15-minute tea break at the auction.
However, there were no takers for 37-year-old Yuvraj, who was a sought after player in the IPL for a long time and during his prime, attracted a Rs 16 crore bid.
He entered into the auction with a base price of Rs one crore and could still find a buyer later in the auction if he is among the unsold players brought back into the pool by the franchises.
Yuvraj going unsold was not particularly surprising as he endured a lean run in the 2018 edition after KXIP bought him at a base price of Rs two crore before releasing him in November.
Besides the capped Indians, the West Indians too were in demand with Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite and Nicholas Pooran bagging hefty deals in the first round of bidding.
Spinner Axar Patel (Rs five crore), pacer Mohit Sharma (Rs five crore) and Mohammad Shami (Rs 4.8 crore) were the other names to fetch big bids.
Patel, who made his name at KXIP, was bought by Delhi Capitals after a bidding battle with the Punjab franchise.
Shami, who turned up for Delhi last season, was sold to KXIP while Mohit went back to Chennai Super Kings after a stint with KXIP.
Royal Challengers Bangalore paid Rs 4.2 crore for Hetmyer. Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals also bid for the stylish West Indian batsman, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh.
His teammate Brathwaite, the star of 2016 World T20, was sold to KKR for Rs five crore after a bidding war between the Dinesh Karthik-led side and Kings XI Punjab.
The all-rounder had entered the auction with a base price of Rs 75.
Another West Indian to get an attractive deal was wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran. The 23-year-old, who came with a base price of Rs 75 lakh, went for Rs 4.20 crore to KXIP. He is a T20 find and is yet to play Test cricket.
Indian Test player Hanuma Vihari was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs two crore, four times his base price.
Pacer Ishant Sharma, who had a base price of Rs 75 lakh, went to Delhi Capitals for Rs 1.1 crore while wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was bought back by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 1.2 crore.
The high-profile unsold players were Cheteshwar Pujara, Brendon McCullum and Chris Woakes.
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At least 200 dead in Congo coltan mine collapse, authorities say, as rebels dispute toll
Goma (Congo) (AP): A mine collapse on Tuesday at a major coltan mining site in eastern Congo left at least 200 dead, according to Congolese authorities, a number disputed by the rebel group that controls the mine.
The collapse took place on Tuesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebels, according to a press release from the Ministry of Mines on Wednesday.
Fanny Kaj, a senior official in the M23 rebel group, which controls the mines, disputed the figure and said that the collapse was caused by “bombings” and only five people had been killed.
“I can confirm that what people are publishing is not true. There was no landslide; there were bombings, and the death toll isn't what people are saying. It's simply about five people who died,” Kaj said.
Ibrahim Taluseke, a miner at the site, said that he had helped to recover over 200 bodies from the area.
“We are afraid, but these are lives that are in danger,” said Taluseke. “The owners of the pits do not accept that the exact number of deaths be revealed.”
Rubaya lies in the heart of eastern Congo, a mineral-rich part of the Central African nation which for decades has been ripped apart by violence from government forces and different armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, whose recent resurgence has escalated the conflict, worsening an already acute humanitarian crisis.
Congo is a major supplier of coltan, a black metallic ore that contains the rare metal tantalum, a key component in the production of smartphones, computers and aircraft engines.
The country produced about 40 per cent of the world's coltan in 2023, according to the US Geological Survey, with Australia, Canada and Brazil being other big suppliers. Over 15 per cent of the world's supply of tantalum comes from Rubaya's mines.
In May 2024, M23 seized the town and took control of its mines. According to a UN report, since seizing Rubaya, the rebels have imposed taxes on the trade and transport of coltan, generating at least USD 800,000 a month.
Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Various conflicts have created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, including more than 300,000 who have fled their homes since December.
In June, the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a peace deal brokered by the US and negotiations continue between rebels and Congo. However, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern Congo, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.
The deal between Congo and Rwanda also opens up access to critical minerals for the US government and American companies.
A similar collapse last month killed over 200.
