BANGALORE: Saturday may not have started in the best of ways for the Indian Premier League auction due to the sudden pullout of Sahara Pune Warriors, but it proved to be another redletter day for Indian cricketers. Two more dollar millionaires were thrown up - one the son of a former security guard and the other the son of a former autorickshaw driver - on a day when a total of $11 million (Rs 53.4 crore) was spent.
Saurashtra allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and Karnataka medium pacer R Vinay Kumar became the latest additions to the millionaire club when Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore bagged them for $2 million (Rs 9.8 crore) and $1 million (4.9 cr) respectively. At least those are the figures each of them will get each year for the next two years with Jadeja further swelling the already-overflowing coffers of the BCCI, after he was involved in a tie-breaker between Chennai Super Kings and the Deccan Chargers, both offering the total purse of $2 million for Jadeja.
The tie-breaker that had the competing teams present an undisclosed amount was won by CSK, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla showing the respective bids to the two team owners. The extra amount will go to BCCI. Sources told TOI that CSK bid Rs 30 crore extra to edge out Deccan . Shukla later confirmed that Jadeja and Vinay would get the full amounts bid for them in the open auction and that their previous signings with Kochi Tuskers Kerala would have no bearing.
If the bids for the two young lads allowed the auction to somewhat get back on track, the mood changed when auctioneer Richard Madley brought his hammer down on the T20 career of the legendary VVS Laxman. Bought by the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the last auction, Laxman may yet get his money but the fact that no team thought him worthy of a place meant that VVS found himself with nowhere to go.
Laxman was by no means the only big name to remain unsold on a day when a mere 25 of the 144 players up for sale were taken. None of the English stars - be it Graeme Swann, James Anderson or Ian Bell - got a look in. Ironically enough, the only 'Englishman' to make it was former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood, who was picked up by Ness Wadia's Kings XI Punjab for $200,000 (Rs 98 lakh).
Among the foreigners the other big buys went on expected lines with Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardena also breaching the million-dollar mark after a tough fight between the Daredevils and Chargers, the former bagging him for $1.4 million (Rs 6.9 cr) in the end. Jayawardena's long-time match-winner in the past, Muthiah Muralitharan (Rs 1.1cr), on the other hand, was a steal for Royal Challengers Bangalore , who paid just $20,000 more than the spin king's reserve prize of $200,000.
For Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders , things went according to plan, or at least that is what the star would have us believe. While they bought their former player Brendon McCullum for $900,000 (Rs 4.4cr), they also sprung a surprise when they picked up rookie West Indies offie Sunil Narine for $700,000 (Rs 3.4cr) after Daredevils had started the bid with the base price of $50,000. As Chennai Super Kings owner Gurunath Meiyappan told TOI, they too would have gone big for Narine had they failed to get Jadeja.
For the Aussies, it was a mixed bag with no takers for Peter Siddle even as the injured Mitchell Johnson was picked up by Mumbai Indians for $300,000 (Rs 1.5cr). Left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg, who will turn 41 on Monday, got an early birthday gift, Rajasthan Royals paying $180,000 (Rs 88 lakh) for him.
As for the Indians, apart from Jadeja and Vinay and save for Laxman and VRV Singh, the only two who went unsold, the other four in the fray didn't do badly. Parthiv Patel ($650,000 or Rs 3.2cr, DC), RP Singh ($600,000 or Rs 2.9cr, MI), Romesh Powar ($160,000 or Rs 78 lakh, KXIP) and the injured S Sreesanth ($400,000 or Rs 2cr, RR) all found a home after their tryst with Kochi.
With the auction done with for now, the action now moves towards the uncapped players, who can be signed from any amount remaining with the franchisees.
