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If you were among the many thousands who watched the Indian Premier League auctions on Sunday and wondered at the huge amounts of money doled out for untested Indian cricketers, here are some answers.

Pawan Negi attracted Rs 8.5 crore from the Delhi Daredevils, almost 30 times his base price. He has only played three first-class matches for Delhi. But as the above video demonstrates, he can hit a ball long and that might explain the high price he commanded. Against the Mumbai Indians last year, he hit an explosive 17-ball 36.

Twenty-year old Deepak Hooda might have attracted the smaller sum of Rs 4.2 crore, but that should be seen in relation to his base price: Rs 10 lakh. Perhaps his performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy played a part in persuading the Sunrisers Hyderabad to buy him.

The Daredevils also splurged on Karun Nair, a Karnataka-born player who earlier played for Rajasthan Royals. Nair was sold for Rs 4 crore after some intense bidding. This innings in the Karnataka Premier League probably did the trick for him.

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