2nd edition of IPL gets underway with player auction!
Second edition of IPL is nearing. Teams are gearing up, plans are being drawn and redrawn to go a step further than last time. Many teams are hindered due to non availability of key performers. They have tried to ensure balance goes awry by picking up players who will add value or fill in some vacant spots due to variety of reasons.
IPL auction - like anything with cricket in India was a grand circus with minute by minute coverage of whole auction. All media people were happy to show Priety, Juhi & Shilpa sporting broad smiles with their so called business partners. There have been some great strategic picks in Shaun Tait & Jerome Taylor and some nonsense ones like Kevin Pietersen & Mortaza. No harm intended to players.
17 players were auctioned, $7.65 million was spent. Some teams splurged, some teams did not. Two english players became the highest paid players of the whole IPL surpassing MS Dhoni and Andrew Symonds from the previous edition. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were bid for a whopping $1.55 million.
Here is our take on the auctioned players. With details
| S.No | Name | Auctioned Price in USD | IPL Team | Comments |
| 1) | Andrew Flintoff | 1,550,000 | Chennai Super Kings | Big fish. When fully fit, Freddie is sight to gods. As his mind oscillates between money & Ashes, Freddie has to find a balance. I am keenly watching how he goes. |
| 2) | Kevin Pietersen | 1,550,000 | Bangalore Royal Challengers | Ego binds owner and might be captian of RC. One-dimensional. $1.55 mn is too high. He should perform to satisfy his big ego if nothing else. Big mistake from Mallya. Don’t seem to learn from first edition debacle. For Mallya its pride and splurge. KP could as well be like the expensive island Mallya allegedly bought. |
| 3) | J P Duminy | 950,000 | Mumbai Indians | Player to watch for. Incredible temparment & skills. 3 dimensional. Big sensation already. Great pick from Mumbai Indians who seem to be getting good. |
| 4) | Tyron Henderson | 650,000 | Rajasthan Royals | Surprise pick. Higly experienced T-20 all-rounder. RR has knack of getting right players for right money. Shilpa might have changed that. Might have spent little more than required. |
| 5) | Mashrafe Bin Mortaza | 600,000 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Very good bowler and hard hitting lower order batsman. You could have picked hell lot better players for that money. SRK was hell bent to get him. Please check with him the reasons. I can’t fathom it. Bad deal. |
| 6) | Ravi Bopara | 450,000 | Kings XI Punjab | Good choice. He isexperienced in this format. Should perform decently. |
| 7) | Shaun Tait | 375,000 | Rajasthan Royals | Check at the T-20 stats of Tait. He could be rattling many a stumps Speed & hunger to prove he is worth much more should spur him. One to watch out for. Full marks for RR in absence of Tanvir. |
 |
Owais Shah | 275,000 | Delhi Daredevils | Pretty good pick. England have wasted a gifted player once touted for greatness. Wristy an any sub continent player & quick on feet. Keep an eye on him. Good deal |
| 9) | Paul Collingwood | 275,000 | Delhi Daredevils | 3 Dimensional. Not pleasing to eye. Gets the job done. Very competent. Good pick. Daredevils might need after the initial spurt of Viru and Gambhir. |
| 10) | Jesse Ryder | 160,000 | Bangalore Royal Challengers | RC have knack of getting hooked up with one-dimensional players. Jessy is more news than substance. He might party with Mallya more than he scores. Either way Mallya wouldn’t mind. |
| 11) | Kyle Mills | 150,000 | Mumbai Indians | Good bowler & hard hitting lower order bat. Got him for cheap. |
| 12) | Fidel Edwards | 150,000 | Deccan Chargers | Good fast bowler. One-dimensional. Interesting pick, strengthening the weak bowling attack |
| 13) | Jerome Taylor | 150,000 | Kings XI Punjab | This is a steal. How someone was not ready to pay more still rankles me. Taylor deserved more. He showed couple of days later why so with 5 wicket burst in test. Check out his T-20 stats, you would know what I mean. |
| 14) | Thilan Thushara | 140,000 | Chennai Super Kings | Dhoni played against him recently, must have seen something in him which he thinks will fill some gaps. I would watch number of games he gets though. |
| 15) | Dwayne Smith | 100,000 | Hyderabad Deccan Chargers | T20 Format is made for smith. He knows only one thing, bang, bang. He loves to smack & is a smart operator with ball good fielder too. |
| 16) | Mohammad Ashraful | 75,000 | Mumbai Indians | This pick is waste as is the talent this dynamo pocesses. You can see through his ears. But a WTF moment for Mumbai Indians. |
| 17) | George Bailey | 50,000 | Chennai Super Kings | He has the highest average of all batsman picked here. Someone must have got it right. Could be a surprise darkhorse |
Possibly related posts :
- 2nd edition of IPL gets underway with player auction!
- IPL Matches today : Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
- Stuart Broad is MVP of England !
- Kevin Pietersen as Bangalore Royal Challengers Captain - a big mistake!
- Kevin Pietersen for Royal Challengers?
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[...] $1.55 mn for Kevin Pietersen and $1.8 mn for Gandhi’s belongings. Kevin Pietersen’s purchase was totally useless. Many will agree with me once the IPL starts. Important thing is he actually spent more for [...]