All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham became the most expensive buy among uncapped players in the history of the tournament. Gowtham was bought by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 9.25 crore in the IPL 2021 auction. Gowtham's base price was set at Rs. 20 lakh. Gowtham is the second all-rounder bought by the CSK in the IPL 2021 Auction, with England's Moeen Ali being the first buy of the franchise. Gowtham was part of Punjab Kings last season.
Gowtham has been a regular in the IPL for a while now and can be an ideal pick for CSK with his handy off-spin and ability to clear the ropes while batting in the lower-middle order. Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders were locked in an intense bidding war for Gowtham after his name was announced at the auction on Thursday. CSK joined the bidding war late and started with the first bid of Rs 7.75 crore. They eventually beat Sunrisers Hyderabad to the signing of the Karnataka all-rounder for Rs 9.25 crore. The CSK had released six players ahead of the 2021 auction, which included a few of the key players of the side in the previous edition like Kedar Jadhav and Piyush Chawla. The side's left-handed batsman Suresh Raina has returned to the squad, after his sudden departure from the team ahead of the 2020 season raised speculations over his place in the side.
