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MUMBAI:
The Player Auction for the BCCI's upcoming Indian Premier
League (IPL) concluded late Wednesday evening and the biggest
name to go under the hammer was India's T20 winning team captain
MS Dhoni.
Captain
courageous as Dhoni is popularly called went for a whopping
$1.5 million (Rs 60 million) to 'Chennai Super Kings' owned
by BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan's India Cements Limited.
 Burly
Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was the only other player
after Dhoni to breach the million-dollar mark, being the costliest
foreigner to get sold for $1.35 million to the Hyderabad franchise
in the third round of the player auction.
Ishant
Sharma after his heroics in Australia came close. He got $950,000
while Irfan Pathan went for $925,000.
Not
surprisingly members from India's victorious T20 World Cup
campaign did really well. RP Singh led the pack, going to
the Hyderabad team for $875,000.
Robin
Uthappa went for $800,000, notching four times the base price
of $200,000. He will be batting for Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai
team. Rohit Sharma went to Hyderabad for $750,000 while Delhi
Daredevils pocketed Gautam Gambhir for $725,000.
The
all-rounders shone brightly. Cameron White, an unknown Australian
all-rounder whose base price was only $100,000, was picked
up by the UB Group which owns the Bangalore franchise for
half a million dollars. That is much more than what Ricky
Ponting ($400,000) and Mathew Hayden ($375,000) went for.
Another
strong performer was Yusuf Pathan. His base price was also
$100,000 but he went for as much as $475,000.
Irfan
Pathan, though, got the most among this category, Preiti Zinta's
Mohali team finding it fit to pay him that much.
What
is surprising is that Australian pace star Glenn McGrath was
one of the unsold players. Delhi bought him for his base price
of $350,000. Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal only going
for $150,000 is another surprise.
"The
fact that only four foreign players were allowed for each
team helped the Indian players. It also helps the company
achieve its goal of allowing youngsters an opportunity to
shine on the big stage," said UB Group chairman Dr. Vijay
Mallya Mallya.
Perception and performance are also key. That is why Munaf
Patel who has been plagued with injury only got $275,000.
It also explains the 150,000 paid for Jaffer who struggled
in Australia.
There
was an overwhelming response to the first ever player auction
of this kind. Of the 79 players, 77 players were sold at the
base price or above. Only two were withdrawn – Ashwell
Prince and Mohammed Yousuf.
Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata team was the most talked about, with
its battery of pace attack in Shoaib Akhtar, Ishant Sharma
and Omar Gul. Then you have a situation where Australian captain
Ricky Ponting will have to bat along with 'Dada' Ganguly who
will lead the side.
Shah
Rukh noted that this was the first time he was ever at an
auction. "It was a nice game to play. I am friends with
many of the franchisees and there was a lot of camaraderie
and sportsmanship. I also expect sport to be given a fillup.
It is right that we start with cricket due to the economics.
However I am sure that as time goes along me and the other
franchisees will look at other sports. Dr. Mallya is already
doing that."
Khan
used to play three sports - cricket, soccer and hockey before
getting injured when he was young. "Regardless of whether
the IPL works or not, I have enough passion to feel successful
at trying to create something new. If the platform is successful,
I will feel fulfilled. It is important that the culture of
sport be brought in as a profession. It is important for us
to play our part in spreading sport as it is healthy for kids.
With the IPL it will be the start to offering youngsters a
viable opportunity," he said.
Mallya drew parallel from the English Premier league. "It
was only a matter of time before Indian cricket went beyond
the Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy. The auction has been an
exciting process and all the franchisees got what they wanted.
IPL is the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket.
It offers youngsters the chance to make money and also to
improve their skill sets by playing alongside international
players," he said.
Bangalore, the team Mallya owns, will be holding the opening
ceremony in April. "I look forward to welcoming the teams,
the BCCI and ICC. I would like to conclude by saying that
while there is a business objective for our involvement in
IPL there is also a sporting objective. We are also hoping
to contribute to the develop of youngsters in sport,"
Mallya said.
It
is important not to look at the IPL from a regional point
of view. "The IPL is meant for the cricket lovers across
the country. Each team will have separate character and identity,
which we will all be working on. Fans identify with a team
based on its character," said Khan.
IMG
helped the BCCI organise the auction.
Team
List
Here
is the complete list of the players of each team and the money
that they are being paid. The price mentioned is for one year
and the contract is for three years. However, franchisees
have a window in February to trade players if they wish.
Jaipur:
Shane Warne ($450,000), Graeme Smith ($475,000), Younis Khan
($225,000), Kamran Akmal ($150,000), Yusuf Pathan ($ 475,000),
Mohammad Kaif ($675,000), Munaf Patel ($275,000), Justin Langer
($200,000)
Chennai:
MS Dhoni ($1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan
($ 600,000), Matthew Hayden ($375,000), Jacob Oram ($675,000),
Stephen Fleming ($350,000), Parthiv Patel
($325,000), Joginder Sharma ($225,000), Albie Morkel
(US$675,000), Suresh Raina ($650,000), Makhaya Ntini
($200,000), Michael Hussey ($350,000)
Mumbai:
Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya ($975,000), Harbhajan
Singh ($850,000), Shaun Pollock
($550,000), Robin Uthappa ($800,000), Lasith Malinga
($350,000), Dilhara Fernando ($150,000), Loots Bosman ($75,000)
Bangalore
Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble ($500,000), Jacques Kallis
($900,000), Zaheer Khan ($450,000), Mark Boucher (US$450,000),
Cameron White (US$ 500,000), Wasim Jaffer ($150,000), Dale
Steyn ($325,000), Nathan Bracken ($325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul
($200,000)
Hyderabad:
Adam Gilchrist ($700,000), Andrew Symonds
($1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$575,000),
Shahid Afridi ($675,000), Scott Styris ($175,000),
VVS Laxman ($375,000), Rohit Sharma ($750,000),
Chamara Silva ($100,000), RP Singh ($875,000),
Chaminda Vaas ($200,000), Nuwan Zoysa ($110,000)
Mohali:
Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar
Sangakkara ($700,000), Brett Lee ($900,000), Sreesanth ($625,000),
Irfan Pathan (US$925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$170,000), Piyush
Chawla
(US$ 400,000), Simon Katich (US$200,000), Ramnaresh
Sarwan (US$225,000)
Kolkata:
Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$
425,000), Ricky Ponting ($400,000), Brendon McCullum
(US$700,000), Chris Gayle ($800,000), Ajit Agarkar
($330,000), David Hussey (S$ 675,000), Ishant Sharma
($950,000), Murali Kartik ($ 425,000), Umar Gul ($150,000),
Tatenda Taibu ($125,000)
Delhi:
Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori ($625,000), Shoaib
Malik ($ 500,000), Mohammad Asif ($650,000), AB de Villiers
($ 300,000), Dinesh Karthik ($525,000), Farveez Maharoof ($
225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan ($250,000), Manoj Tiwary ($675,000),
Gautam Gambhir ($725,000), Glenn McGrath ($350,000).
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