When compared with the sights, sounds and the staggering display of wealth in the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) first auction last month, Round Two of bidding would seem almost irrelevant.

But, in terms of significance, what transpired at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office on Tuesday could prove to be vital once the cricket starts on April 18.

Thanks to the $ 5m cap on spending, the major buyers in the first round — Chennai and Hyderabad — could not acquire any of the 25 fresh cricketers up for sale.

Instead, Jaipur’s Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore’s Royal Challengers ended up with splendid bargains after having saved $ 1.7m and $ 374,000 in the February 20 auction. Jaipur grabbed England’s Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Masceranhas, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, Pakistan bowler Sohail Tanveer and South African paceman Morne Morkel for astonishingly low prices (see box).

Bangalore, meanwhile, hit a jackpot of sorts when they bought Pakistan’s Twenty20 championship hero Misbah-ul Haq for a mere $ 125,000.

The highest spenders of Round Two were Team Mohali, represented by Bombay Dyeing scion Ness Wadia. The team picked up Australian all-rounder James Hopes — who had scored an impressive half-century in the second CB Series final — for $ 300,000, which was the most expensive buy of the day.

All the players were fixed at a base price of $ 50,000. Western Australia batsman Luke Pomersbach going for the base price itself and Morkel going for a mere $ 60,000 could be considered as the best deals in the IPL auctions so far.

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