IPL Auction 2019: 5 surprising picks

#2 Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy was sold for INR 8.40 crores to the KXIP

The mystery spinner from Tamil Nadu, Varun Chakravarthy is relatively unknown to a lot of cricket fans. In the Tamil Nadu Premier League, he was the star performer for his team, Siechem Madurai Panthers, where he picked up 9 wickets in 10 matches at an economy rate of just 4.70 and played a key role in the team winning the title.

Chakravarthy's form continued in 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy as he picked up 22 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 4.23. Varun was the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

He entered this year's auction with a base price of just INR 20 lakhs. While a lot of pundits and analysts expected teams to throw their hat in for him, no one expected him to end up as one of the costliest buys in the auction. Varun was sold for INR 8.40 crores to the KXIP after several teams tried to purchase him. It will be interesting to see how he performs in this year's IPL.