Rishabh Pant surpasses Shreyas Iyer to become costliest buy in IPL history at Rs 27 crore
goes to Lucknow Super Giants
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (PTI): Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of IPL as Lucknow Super Giants splurged a humongous Rs 27 crore to buy the flamboyant India keeper-batter in the tournament's mega auction here on Sunday.
The amount LSG spent for Pant ensured Shreyas Iyer's record of being the tournament's costliest player lasted barely a few minutes after Punjab Kings broke the bank to buy the India batter for Rs 26.75 crore.
Moments before Pant emerged as the most expensive player, Iyer surpassed the record held by Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore in the last auction.
Pant went to LSG after his former franchise Delhi Capitals did not use the Right to Match card to buy him back.
Starc got a much lower price this time and was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 11.75 crore, while England's Jos Buttler went to Gujarat Titans for Rs 15.75 crore.
Among others, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh's consistency earned him a massive bid of Rs 18 crore, also from Punjab Kings via the Right to Match card, while South African speedster Kagiso Rabada was bought for Rs 10.75 crore by Gujarat Titans.
Iyer, the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain, started with a base price of Rs two crore.
Delhi Capitals had the bid at Rs 26 crore for him but PBKS raised the amount to get the player.
Chennai Super Kings started with the first bid for Arshdeep, whose base price was also Rs two crore.
Eventually, after an intense bidding war, the seamer was bought back by Punjab, who exercised the right to match option to complete the deal, having released him earlier.
This is the second time an IPL auction is being held outside the country after last year's event in Dubai.
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Minister Patil inaugurates Amazon’s Corporate Office in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil on Monday inaugurated Amazon’s newly constructed, fully equipped 11 lakh sq ft corporate office near Yelahanka here.
Built on a five-acre site approximately 15 kilometres from Kempegowda International Airport, Amazon said this is its second largest office in Asia.
The 12-storey campus will support over 7,000 employees across ecommerce, operations, payments, technology, and seller services in India, Amazon said in a statement.
Patil said this is Amazon’s 10th corporate office in the state. The company, which has shared a two-decade association with Karnataka, plans to invest USD 35 billion in India over the next four years.
"This investment is expected to support 15 million small businesses and generate lakhs of employment opportunities. Karnataka will receive a significant share of this investment," the minister said after inaugurating the new office.
The minister pointed out that Karnataka has an annual per capita income of over Rs 3.80 lakh, ranking highest in the country.
According to him, the state also stands second in annual GST contributions to the national exchequer, contributing Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Bengaluru has climbed to the 21st position globally in the Global Innovation Index and is the only Indian city to feature among the top 30 in the Tech-Cities Index.
Last year, the city recorded 14.6 million square feet of industrial leasing, the highest in the country, he said.
Of the 900 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, nearly 35 per cent are located in Karnataka, he added.
In a statement issued by the minister's office, Patil said the state also leads in infrastructure required for e-commerce operations, with warehousing capacity of 42.48 lakh tonne and 233 cold storage units. Correspondingly, e-commerce transactions in the state are growing at 11 per cent annually.
To further promote industrial growth, projects such as dedicated freight rail corridors, multimodal logistics parks, dry ports and truck terminals have been planned. Patil urged Amazon and other global companies to leverage Karnataka’s industry-friendly ecosystem by enhancing their investments in the state, manufacturing here and exporting to global markets.
According to Samir Kumar, Country Manager, Amazon India, "India continues to be a long-term priority for Amazon, and Bengaluru has played a central role in our journey here. Over the years, the city has been home to some of our earliest technology and business teams, and today it remains a key hub for innovation and talent."
