Flamboyant
all-rounder Yuvraj Singh drew the biggest bid after the first four rounds of
the high-profile Indian Premier League players' auction in Bangalore with
Royal Challengers Bangalore clinching his services for a whopping Rs 14
crore on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu
wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik emerged as a surprise big draw going
for Rs 12.5 crore to Delhi Daredevils, who had decided not to retain a
single player before the auctions.
Controversial
batsman Kevin Pietersen, whose England career came to an end abrupt end after a
disastrous Ashes campaign, fetched a huge Rs 9 crore purse, bought by Delhi
Daredevils, the franchise he played for last season. Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson (Rs 6.5
crore, Kings XI Punjab), Indian opener Murali Vijay (Rs 5 crore, Delhi
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, SRH) were
some of the players who triggered intense bidding wars in first three rounds of
the auction. 514 players are going under
the hammer over two days, 318 of whom are Indians, including uncapped players,
who are being auctioned for the first time.
"It's
a grand affair and every edition IPL has grown bigger. The seventh edition
would be no exception, it will be grander and more entertaining for fans and
franchises," IPL Chairman Ranjib Biswal said before the start of the
star-studded auction where Bollywood actors and business tycoons were present.
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 which was beamed live.
Former
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene and former New Zealand skipper Ross
Taylor surprisingly found no buyers. Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and
batsman David Hussey also suffered a similar fate. These players can come back
into auction after all the rounds are over.
