The player auction for the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) threw up many firsts, from the most expensive buys, to pay cuts, to some marquee names being ignored.
Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya made heads turn when he outbid others to bag World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh for a staggering ₹14 crore, the highest amount paid so far for a player in the IPL’s history.
Mallya later tweeted that while he was happy bagging Yuvraj — a ‘must have’ for captain Virat Kohli — he felt he had overpaid by a few crores.
Interestingly it was Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals that made the opening bids for Yuvraj before Mallya upped the ante in a bid to strengthen the team’s batting line-up, which also includes West Indies’ Chris Gayle.
A total of 216 players participated in the auction, of whom 70 were bought for a total of ₹212.35 crore. Thursday will see bids for uncapped players and those who were not picked on day one .
The other big surprise during the bidding process was Dinesh Karthik, who has been left out from India’s World T20 squad but had Delhi Daredevils snaring him for ₹12 crore, the second-highest amount paid for a player in the auction.
In comparison, Mumbai Indians spent just ₹5 crore on Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, the most expensive player in the last edition.
Among overseas players, Kevin Pietersen was again bought by Delhi Daredevils, this time for ₹9.5 crore. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was bought by Kings XI Punjab for ₹6.5 crore while cricket’s latest poster boy, New Zealand’s Corey Anderson, was picked by Mumbai Indians for ₹4.5 crore.
Brendon McCullum, a hot favourite, was bought for a relatively lower price of ₹3.5 crore by Chennai Super Kings.
Among the franchisees, Kings XI Punjab had the best day, bagging some very good players, including Virender Sehwag and Australians Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey and Aaron Finch.
Among those who did not find any takers were New Zealander Ross Taylor, a major success against India earlier this month, and Brett Lee, the former Australian fast bowler.
The Pathan brothers, once the most sought-after players in the circuit, saw their value decline from the 2011 season. Kolkata Knight Riders, which had paid $2.1 million for Yusuf Pathan in the earlier auction, doled out just ₹3.25 crore to buy him back. Irfan Pathan, who was bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2011 for $1.9 million (nearly ₹9 crore then) was clinched by Hyderabad Sunrisers for a relatively lesser amount, ₹2.4 crore.
The total amount remaining for tomorrow’s bidding by all the teams is ₹62.15 crore.