MUMBAI: India's Gen-Next cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Ishant Sharma were more sought after than overseas stars by the eight franchise owners at the Indian Premier League players' auction here.

Rohit was auctioned off to the Hyderabad team for USD 750,000, Uthappa was sold to Mumbai for USD 800,000 while the gangling Ishant, the most improved pacer in the country, went under the hammer for a whopping USD 950,000, the fourth-costliest purchase.

Considering that Ishant's base price was only a modest USD 150,000, the amount paid for him by the Sourav Ganguly-led Kolkata team was a clear indication of the meteoric rise of the 19-year-old Delhi-born fast bowler, who often touched the 150-km mark during the ongoing tour Down Under.

Surprisingly Ricky Ponting, one of the top Test and ODI players in the world, was available for only USD 400,000 the Kolkata team being the beneficiaries, while Stephen Fleming was roped in by Chennai for USD 350,000.

IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi expressed his surprise that the Indian players could get such a good price.