Every franchisee will be fighting for the big names in the IPL auction on 8th and 9th January but there will be a few names who can emerge as the underdogs and can be more than handful for their respective franchisees.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was bought by Shah Rukha Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders for a
whopping USD 2.4 million (approx
Rs. 11.04 crore) for the fourth edition of Indian Premier League to be held from April 8 to May 20.
The KKR dominated the first round of auction of nine
marquee players as they also bought T20 specialist Yusuf Pathan for a staggering USD 2.1 million (approx
Rs. 9.66 crore).
The first round of auctions certainly belonged to KKR although they have consumed half of their spending purse (USD 4.5 million) on two players.
It was intense bidding for Gambhir who was the first player under the hammer as Sahara Pune Warriors and Mumbai Indians were involved in a bidding war before KKR joined the fray after it crossed the million dollar barrier.
After Gambhir, it was Rohit Sharma who was much indemand and was sold for $2 million or Rs9.06crore by Mumbai Indians.
Sourav Ganguly got no bidder for himself and remained unsold.
Sahara Pune Warriors opened their account with Yuvraj Singh buying him for USD 1.8 million (Rs 8.28 crore apprx) after beating Team Kochi and Kings XI Punjab in the bid.
Kings XI Punjab also lost the bid of Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene who was bought by Kochi for USD 1.5 million.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Zaheer Khan for USD 900,000 and dashing Lankan opener TM Dilshan for USD 650,000. However Vijay Mallya owned franchise had a prize catch in talented South African AB de Villiers buying him for a big amount of USD 1.1 million (Rs 5.06 crore).
The Rajasthan Royals bought New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor for USD 1 million (Rs 4.6 crore).
However, for Kevin Pietersen who was one of the most sought after players in the second and third edition was bought by Deccan Chargers for USD 650,000 much less than his million dollar price in the earlier years. Pietersen, alongwith Andrew Flintoff, was the most expensive player in the last edition with USD 1.5 million.