IPL franchisees spend millions to buy cricketers
Indian ODI and 20/20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni broke the million-dollar barrier when he was purchased for a huge $1.5 million (nearly Rs. 6 crore) by the Chennai franchisee of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai. Andrew Symonds, the Australian cricketer who was recently involved in a controversy with India’s Harbhajan Singh, was not far behind when he was bagged by the Hyderabad franchisee for $1.35 million. Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata team pocketed India’s latest pace sensation Ishant Sharma for $950,000.
Adam Gilchrist, who is soon to retire from international cricket, was purchased by the V V S Laxman-led Hyderabad team for $700,000. In a nice gesture, Laxman offered to give up the status of an icon so that the Hyderabad team could spend more money in acquiring players. Spin legend Shane Warne went to Jaipur, but there was no bid for another legend, Glenn McGrath. Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf was also placed in the list of reserves due to legal complications. Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan were bought by the Kolkata team to be led by Saurav Ganguly.
Top industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Mumbai team to be led by Sachin Tendulkar bought Harbhajan and Sri Lankan limited-overs great Sanath Jayasuriya. Liqueur baron Vijay Mallya’s Bangalore team got Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher of South Africa along with Indian pacer Zaheer Khan. Indian Test captain Anil Kumble will also be a part of the Rahul Dravid-led team.
Actor Preity Zinta’s Yuvraj Singh-led Mohali ensured the services of Australian fast bowler Brett Lee along with two leading Sri Lankans – Mahela Jayewardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Sri Lanka’s ace off-spinner Muthiah Muralidharan was bagged by Chennai. The Delhi team caused a bit of flutter by purchasing Dinesh Kartick and Manoj Tiwari for $525,000 and $675,000 respectively. With Virender Sehwag as its icon, it also got New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and Pakistani pacer Mohammad Asif.
The list of unsold players at the end of the bidding include Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Yousuf, Tatenda Taibu, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ashwell Prince, Loots Bosman, and Mike Hussey.
Below are the teams and the players bought by them:
Jaipur: Shane Warne (US$ 450,000), Graeme Smith (US$ 475,000), Younis Khan (US$ 225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$ 150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$ 475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$ 675,000), Munaf Patel (US$ 275,000)
Chennai: MS Dhoni (US$ 1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$ 600,00), Matthew Hayden (US$ 375,000), Jacob Oram (US$ 675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$ 350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$ 325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$ 225,000), Albie Morkel (US$ 675,000), Suresh Raina (US$ 650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$ 200,000)
Mumbai: Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$ 975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$ 850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$ 550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$ 800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$ 350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$ 150,000)
Bangalore: Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$ 500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$ 900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$ 450,000), Mark Boucher (US$ 450,000), Cameron White (US$ 500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$ 150,000), Dale Steyn (US$ 325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$ 325,000)
Hyderabad: Adam Gilchrist (US$ 700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$ 1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$ 575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$ 675,000), Scott Styris (US$ 175,000), VVS Laxman (US$ 375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$ 750,000), Chamara Silva (US$ 100,000), RP Singh (US$ 875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$ 200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US4 110,000)
Mohali: Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$ 475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$ 700,000), Brett Lee (US$ 900,000), Sreesanth (US$ 625,000), Irfan Pathan (US$ 925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$ 170,000), Piyush Chawla (US$ 400,000)
Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$ 425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$ 400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$ 700,000), Chris Gayle (US$ 800,000), Ajit Agarkar (US$ 330,000), David Hussey (US$ 675,000), Ishant Sharma (US$ 950,000), Murali Kartik (US$ 425,000), Umar Gul (US$ 150,000)
Delhi: Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$ 625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$ 500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$ 650,000), AB de Villiers (US$ 300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$ 525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$ 225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$ 250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$ 675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$ 725,000)
