Karthik snapped up for Rs 12.5 crore
Bangalore: Flamboyant all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was the surprise recipient of a windfall at the IPL players’ auction, fetching a record bid of Rs 14 crore from the Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Dinesh Karthik also clinched a mind-boggling Rs 12.5 crore purse from Delhi Daredevils here on Wednesday.
Both Yuvraj and Karthik, who are not even regular members of the Indian team, triggered stunning bidding wars among the franchises to set a new record in earnings in the cash-rich league. They surpassed the Rs 11.04 crore that was bid on Gautam Gambhir in 2011, the highest until now.
Controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen, whose England career came to an abrupt end after a disastrous Ashes campaign earlier this month, fetched a huge Rs 9 crore purse, bought by Delhi Daredevils, the franchise he played for last year.
Upcoming New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, who scored the fastest ODI century by smashing a 36-ball ton to breach the record set by Shahid Afridi in 1996, expectedly got a decent package of Rs 4.5 crore with the Mumbai Indians.
Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson (Rs 6.5 crore, Kings XI), all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (Rs 6 crore, Kings XI), Indian opener Murali Vijay (Rs 5 crore, Daredevils), South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis (Rs 5.5 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders), Robin Uthappa (Rs 5 crore, KKR), West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith (Rs 4.5 crore, Chennai Super Kings), Amit Mishra (Rs 4.25 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Aaron Finch (Rs 4 crore, Sunrisers) were some of the other players who triggered intense bidding in the auction.
Actress Preity Zinta, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, Juhi Chawla, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, businessman Vijay Mallya, Nita Ambani (Mumbai Indians), cricketers Rahul Dravid (Rajasthan Royals), Anil Kumble (Mumbai Indians) were among the celebrities present at the auction.
Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene, former New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor, Australian T20 specialist Cameron White, who captained Sunrisers for a while last season, West Indian Marlon Samuels, pacer Daniel Christian and England batsman Ian Bell surprisingly found no buyers.
Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, batsman David Hussey and retired pacer Brett Lee also suffered a similar fate but all the unsold players can come back into auction on Thursday.
Yuvraj, a cancer survivor, fetching such a huge price came as a massive surprise since the left-hander is no longer in the ODI team due to poor form, though he was picked in the squad for the World Twenty20 Championship in Bangladesh.
“The team is looking stronger with him,” said RCB co-owner Vijay Mallya even though he admitted that he ended up paying Rs 4 crore more than what he had planned.
Similar was the case of Karthik, who does not figure in the Indian team, but generated immense interest among the franchises.
At a base price of Rs 2 crore, there was a bidding war between Delhi and Hyderabad for him before KKR also jumped into the fray. But Delhi seemed persistent and in the end, outbid the other two contenders.
Pietersen was always expected to be a hot pick given that he would be available all through the season post his forced retirement from international cricket.
So it came as no surprise that his name triggered three-way bidding between CSK, KXIP and Delhi. The player eventually went to Delhi, who exercised the ‘Right to Match’ provision to grab him as his former employers.
Kallis was taken by KKR through the same provision after an initial bidding war between CSK and Delhi.
Veteran Indian opener Virender Sehwag (base price Rs 2 crore), who had been released by Delhi, went to Kings XI for Rs 3.2 crore. The India discard’s name was all set to be hammered in as unsold before Punjab bought his services fending off bids from Mumbai Indians.
Australian all-rounder Steve Smith was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 4 crore while Sri Lankan Thisara Perera went to Kings XI for Rs 1.6 crore.
Hard-hitting Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was re-bought by KKR for Rs 3.25 crore, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock was grabbed by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 3.5 crore.
Karthik could not quite believe the news of his purchase.
“Yes, I am very happy but I never thought that I would get this kind of a price. Actually, I came to know a bit later as we didn’t have access to television in the dressing room,” Karthik told PTI after the Irani Cup match in New Delhi.
Dravid, in Bangalore, said he was surprised at Taylor and White remaining unsold.
“It was a bit of surprise for me (to see Taylor go unsold). Ross (Taylor) in Rs 2 crore could have made a lot of sense but I think he came at the back end of the batting list which went against his favour,” said Dravid.
“I think someone like Cameron White who is a shrewd captain and good batsman (is also unfortunate),” he added. (PTI)