Bangalore: Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja was the biggest grosser at the Indian Premier League auction on Saturday, bought for a whopping $ 2 million by the Chennai Super Kings on a day that saw 69 of the 144 players listed to be auctioned getting sold. The remaining went unsold.
Besides Jadeja, the other Indian who raked in the moolah was R Vinay Kumar, who also had bidders fighting for him - with Royal Challengers Bangalore bringing the hammer down at a price tag of $ 1 million. Both Jadeja and Vinay had come to the table with a base price of $ 100,000.
West Indies' Sunil Narine was surprisingly one of the top-earners with a purse of $ 7,00,000 shelled out by Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders. But disappointment was in store for VVS Laxman as none of the franchises raised the flashlights for him, possibly because of an unreasonable base price of $ 400,000 and a poor run of form in Australia.
English players, among whom was arguably the world's best offspinner Graeme Swann, were given a cold shoulder by all the franchises due to a question mark over their availability, courtesy national commitments.
The good news for Pakistan came with a UK passport when veteran all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who is now a British citizen, was lapped up by Kings XI Punjab for $ 200,000.
The day broke out with the shocking news of Sahara India withdrawing its sponsorship of the Indian cricket team and Pune Warriors hours ahead of auctioneer Richard Madley announcing the list of marquee players, who were the first to be auctioned.
New Zealand's Brendon McCullum was the first player to be sold when KKR bidded successfully for him, making the Kiwi richer by $ 900,000. McCullum will now play for the same franchise he represented in the league's inaugural season.
But there was a dog-fight for Jadeja, who it seems topped the priority lists of CSK and Deccan Chargers. Both the franchises bidded with the maximum cap of $2 million, after which a secret bid decided Jadeja's fate, where CSK snatched the deal from the Chargers.
Among the other former Kochi players, Sri Lankan stalwarts Mahela Jayawardene went to Delhi Daredevils for $ 1.4 million and Muttiah Muralitharan was picked up by the Royal Challenges Bangalore for $ 2,20,000.
Veteran Australian batsman Brad Hodge was bought by Rajasthan Royals for $ 4,75,000, while another South African veteran Herschelle Gibbs was sold to Mumbai Indians for $ 50,000.
In the wicketkeepers' draw, Parthiv Patel was bought by Deccan Chargers for $ 6,50,000. Young Sri Lankan glovesman Dinesh Chandimal was pocketed by Rajasthan Royals for his base price of $ 50,000. Meanwhile, Matt Prior (England), Brendon Taylor (Zimbabwe) and Mark Boucher (South Africa) remained unsold.
In the allrounders' list, West Indies' Andre Russell was picked up for $ 4,50,000 by the Delhi Daredevils, while Australian Mitchell Johnson was bought by Mumbai Indians for $ 3,00,000.
Kevin O'Brien of Ireland, who made ripples in the World Cup last year, too surprisingly remained unsold.
In the pace bowlers' draw, RP Singh was taken by Mumbai Indians for $ 6,00,000. Kerala pacer S Sreesanth was sold to Rajasthan Royals for $ 4,00,000.
In the spinners' section, Australian Brad Hogg, Indian Ramesh Powar and South African Robin Peterson were picked up for $ 1,80,000 (Rajasthan Royals), $ 1,60,000 (Kings XI Punjab) and $ 1,00,000 (Mumbai Indians) respectively.
Based on the preference of various franchises, a total of 34 players were shortlisted for the auction after lunch when good news came Azhar Mahmood's way.
Hard-hitting Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera was bought by Mumbai Indians for $ 650,000. South Australian batsman Daniel Harris was sold to Deccan Chargers for $ 70,000, while Australian all-rounder James Faulkner was bought by Kings XI Punjab for $ 1,90,000.
Darren Bravo became second time lucky as the classy West Indies batsman was sold to Deccan Chargers for $ 1,00,000 when the players who remained unsold in the morning session went up for sale again. Doug Bracewell went to Delhi Daredevils for $ 50,000 in the re-draw.
Unsold Players:
James Anderson (base price $ 300,000), Tamim Iqbal (base price $ 50,000), Adrian Barath (base price $ 50,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (base price $ 100,000), Ian Bell (base price $ 200,000), Owais Shah (base price $200,000), Upul Tharanga (base price $50,000), VVS Laxman (base price $400,000), Matt Prior (base price $200,000), Brendan Taylor (base price $100,000), Mark Boucher (base price $100,000), Justin Kemp (base price $100,000), Marlon Samuels (base price $100,000), Steven Smith (base price $200,000), Ravi Bopara (base price $100,000), Luke Wright (base price $200,000), Kevin O'Brien (base price $50,000), Dwayne Smith (base price $100,000), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (base price $50,000), VRV Singh (base price $100,000), Vernon Philander (base price $200,000), Fidel Edwards (base price $100,000), Ravi Rampaul (base price $100,000), Peter Siddle (base price $200,000), Tim Southee (base price $100,000), Graeme Swann (base price $400,000), Rangana Herath (base price $50,000), Ajantha Mendis (base price $50,000), Steve O'Keefe (base price $100,000), Xavier Doherty (base price $100,000), Michael Klinger (base price $50,000), Richard Levi (base price $50,000), Alviro Petersen (base price $100,000), Lendl Simmons (base price $50,000), Farveez Maharoof (base price $50,000), Jacob Oram (base price $100,000), Moises Henriques (base price $50,000), Ben Laughlin (base price $50,000), Ryan McLaren (base price $100,000), Nicky Boje (base price $200,000), Jacques Rudolph (base price $20,000), Andy McKay (base price $50,000), Alister McDermott (base price $20,000), Michael Neser (base price $50,000)
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