Won two IPL trophies here so Kolkata is special to me: Nita Ambani
It was the first time that players' auction was being held in Kolkata.
Kolkata: As the Indian Premier League (IPL) players' auction came to a close on Thursday, Mumbai Indians' owner Nita Ambani said that Kolkata is a very special place for her as the side managed to win two IPL trophies in the city.
It was the first time that players' auction was being held in Kolkata.
"Kolkata is very special to me. We won our two IPL trophies here. It's wonderful to come back here, I love coming to this city," Ambani told reporters.
In the auction, Mumbai managed to bag Australia's Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Lynn was bought at his base price of INR 2 crore while Coulter-Nile was purchased for INR 8 crore.
"We are thrilled. We have Chris Lynn now, bought him at his base price. We also have Nathan Coulter-Nile so we have all grounds covered. Whatever we were looking for, we have got it covered. I am very excited in having Lynn as a part of the team," Ambani said.
"Mumbai Indians has always believed in youngsters and giving them a chance. Yes, we were looking to buy a fast bowler, bowlers win you matches. In 2017 and 2019, it was our bowlers who won us the tournament. We are very happy with our bowling picks," she added.
Mumbai purchased six players in the auction and they are-- Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Saurabh Tiwary, Digvijay Deshmukh, Prince Balwant Rai Singh, Mohsin Khan.
As the IPL auction came to a close, a total of 62 players were bought by eight teams combined.
In the auction, Australia's pacer Pat Cummins became the most expensive foreign player as he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 15.5 crore while Piyush Chawla was the most expensive Indian player as he was purchased by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 6.75 crore.
Out of the 62, 29 are foreign players while 33 are Indian.
Tim Southee, Alex Hales, Yusuf Pathan, Jason Holder, Carlos Brathwaite did not get any takers and went unsold.