Gambhir gets top price in IPL auction
Opening batsman Gautam Gambhir fetched the highest price on the opening day of bidding for Indian Premier League players, heading to Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.4 million.
IPL franchises spent liberally on Indian players Saturday ahead of the fourth edition of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, but there were no takers for big foreign names such as Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs.
Kolkata spent $2.1 million to pick up allrounder Yusuf Pathan. Pune spent $2.1 million to get Robin Uthappa while Mumbai Indians splashed out $2 million on Rohit Sharma.
Others to attract big investments included all-rounder Irfan Pathan (Delhi Daredevils, $1.9 million), Yuvraj Singh (Pune, $1.8 million) and Saurabh Tiwari (Bangalore Royal Challengers, $1.6 million), completing a list of seven Indians at the top of the table.
Gambhir, who led Delhi Daredevils in the last edition, was surprisingly not bid for by his former team, even as others clamored for the left-hander.
Gambhir's record tag was 12 times his base price of $200,000, as new franchises Pune and Kochi as well as Mumbai Indians bid aggressively for him before Kolkata clinched the deal.
The highest bids before this auction were the $1.55 million each for England players Kevin Pietersen (Bangalore Royal Challengers) and Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) during the second edition, in 2009.
Ten franchises are participating in the two-day bidding, including Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab _ teams banished by the IPL for breaching ownership regulations but readmitted for the auction following a court order.
More than 350 players were up for grabs for the next three seasons, with the sequence of players coming up for auction decided by drawing of lots.
Surprisingly, no one bid for former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who was a leading player for Kolkata and among 21 players with the highest base price of $ 400,000.
Those not bid for are likely to go under the hammer again towards the end of the auction on Sunday.
Among the foreign players, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (Kochi, $1.5 million), David Hussey (King's XI Punjab, $1.4 million) and South African express paceman Dale Steyn (Deccan Chargers, $1.2 million) formed the top rung.
South Africans A.B. de Villiers (Bangalore Royal Challengers), Jacques Kallis (Kolkata Knight Riders), newly named Australia Twenty20 captain Cameron White (Deccan Chargers) and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan (Kochi) were sold for $1.1 million each.
New Zealand's Ross Taylor was the other player who touched the $1 million mark.
Australian veteran Adam Gilchrist moved from Deccan Chargers to King's XI Punjab for $900,000, while his compatriot Andrew Symonds was taken for $850,000 by Mumbai Indians and will now play alongside Harbhajan Singh, whom he accused of racial abuse three years ago.
Twelve players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians) and Shane Warne (Rajasthan Royals), were retained by their original franchises.
Teams are allowed a maximum of $9 million to spend, which includes money for those players retained from previous seasons.
The 2011 IPL season will be held from April 8-May 22.