IPL T20 Cricket

Chennai Super kings bought England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff while Bangalore Royal Challengers captured Kevin Pietersen. JP Duminy of South Africa as expected became a surprise pack and was bought by Mumbai Indians. Both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are now most expensive players in IPL. They have overthrown Indian Captain MS Dhoni as the most expensive players.

Indian Premier League auction was held today in Goa and 8 franchisees are participating in the auction for the 17 slots. England players are getting lot of attention due to their vast experience in the Twenty20 cricket. All these contracts are valid for 2 years.

South African all-rounder Tyron Henderson surprised everyone by getting Rs 3.18 crore in the auction. Rajasthan Royals won the bid facing stiff competition from Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.


Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza is another surprise pack. Mortaza was picked by Kolkata IPL after intense bidding war with Mohali IPL for 2.9 crore. Kolkata and Mohali fought intensely during auction for this lower order hitter and strike bowler. 12 times his base price - Unbelievable!


IPL auction 2 results:

1. Kevin Pietersen: Bangalore Royal Challengers for $1.55 million (Rs 7.35 crore).

2. Andrew Flintoff: Chennai Superkings for $1.55 million.

3. JP Duminy (South Africa): Mumbai Indians picked him for $9,50,000 (Rs 4.5 crore).

4. Shaun Tait: Rajasthan Royals bought him for for $3,75,000.

5. Owais Shah (England): Delhi Daredevils bought for $2,75,000.

6. Paul Collingwood (England): Delhi Daredevils bought for $2,75,000 (Rs 1.34 crore).

7. Fidel Edwards: Hyderabad IPL bought him for $1,50,000. Hyderaabd needs a strike bowler desperately.
Stay tuned for more updates.

8. Tyron Henderson: South African all-rounder was bought by Rajasthan Royals for $6,50,000. Another surprise pack in the auction. Will he justify his huge price tag on Indian pitches?

9. Ravi Bopara (England): He was bought Punjab Kings Eleven for $4,50,000.

10. Thulan Thushara (Sri Lanka): Chennai Super Kings bought him for $1,40,000. Chennai may play some matches in Colombo. It is bidding aggressively for Sri Lankan players.

11. Jesse Ryder (New Zealand): Bangalore bought him for $1,60,000.

12. Kylie Mills (New Zealand): Mumbai Indians bought him for $1,50,000.

13. Dwayne Smith (West Indies): Hyderabad IPL bought him for $1,00,000.


14. Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh): Kolkata Knight Riders bought Bangladesh pace bowler for $6,00,000. Kolkata may play some games in Dhaka in IPL 2009 and 2010. Unbelievable price! auction time: 20 minutes. Base price for Mortaza is just $50,000. Is there any method in this madness?

15. George Bialey (Australia): Chennai bought him for $50,000.

16. Jerome Taylor (West Indies): Punjab Kings Eleven bought him for $1,50,000.

17. Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh): Mumbai picked him for just $75,000.


Unsold players in the auction:

Stuart Clark, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dilshan, Kupugdera, Brad Haddin, Phil Jacques, Luke Wright, Kulasekara, Ashwell Prince, McGain, Andre nel, Samit Patel, Sakib-Al-Hasan, Van Wyk, Dominic Thornley, Noffke, Darren Powell, James Franklin, Prasanna Jayawardene, Klinger, Ghulam Bodi, Daniel Harris, Michael Dighton, Brett Greeves, Michael Hill, Tamim Iqbal, Roach, Abdullah and Michael Clarke.

Franchisees have shown little interest in Australian players due to their non-availability for most of the tournament. Franchisees will pick 8 players of their choice after the auction as replacements for Pakistan players.

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50 players will go under hammer on February 6 for the 17 slots in this auction for Indian Premier League contracts. Due to the availability of limited slots, some players may not even get any bids due to their steep price. Franchisees kept their plans close to their chest. According to sources, Bangalore is trying hard for Kevin Pietersen while Kolkata and Hyderabad badly needs a strike bowler. IPL franchisees may not slash their cash carelessly in this round of auction. There will be no mid-season replacements in IPL 2009.

New IPL rule: In case of a tie, both teams will play a one over eliminator to decide match result.

New IPL plans: IPL authorities are planning to extend the scope of the clubs beyond their cities. Rajasthan may play some matches in Ahmedabad while Kolkata may play in Dhaka. Chennai IPL may play some games in Colombo while Mohali may be allowed to play in Lahore in tensions between India and Pakistan subsides.

IPL Auction statistics:

1. Total players available: 50

2. Slots available: Just 17.

3. Total amount to be spent: $13.59 million

IPL Vs Pakistan:

Total players barred by Pakistan board: 10

Players released from IPL contracts: Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Salman Butt and Mohammed Hafeez.

Retained Pakistan players: Umar Gul, (Knight Riders), Misbah-ul-Haq (Royal Challengers), Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan Royals). But they will not play in IPL 2009 edition.

But IPL authorities allowed franchisees to pick replacements for suspended Pakistani players after the auction. Kolkata and Bangalore can pick a player each while Rajasthan can buy 2 players after the auction as Pakistan player replacements.


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Second Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for 43 players will be held at the Hermitage Hall of the Fort Aguada resort in Goa on February 26th. Michael Clarke of Australia withdrew from the auction as he failed to find any takers for his $1 million price tag. He escaped from embarrassment. No Pakistan player will play in IPL 2009. IPL 2009 will be held in April-May, 2009.

Australian players are not available for first 2 weeks while South African players are not available for the first week but players from New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka will be available for whole tournament along with Indian cricket stars. England stars are not available for the final 2 weeks of the IPL matches.

Auction location: Taj Aguada hotel

Total franchisees: 8

Total players available: 112.

Slots available: 43

New rules for IPL 2009 Auction:

1. Each franchise has an option of purchasing any number of uncapped new players by a direct agreement.

2. Each franchise will have a sum of $2m to spend on player fees in 2009 for cricketers acquired either in the auction, through signing uncapped new players or re-signing any 2008 temporary replacements.

3. Squads will not be allowed temporary replacements from 2009 to cover partial unavailability of a player during the season.

4. Unused amount of the 2008 budget can not be used in 2009.

Star attractions at auction:

1. Kevin Pietersen (England): $1.35 million price tag. Bangalore is trying hard for this man. I don’t see any reason in paying such a steep price in spite of his credentials.

2. Andrew Flintoff (England): $0.95 million price tag. In my view, he adds more value to team than Pietersen. Chennai, Mumbai and Mohali are rumoured to have shown interest on this all-rounder.

3. JP Duminy (South Africa): Underdog of the auction. Franchisees should concentrate on players like him.

4. Shaun Tait (Australia): Teams like Delhi and Kolkata need him as they missed the bowling services of Pakistan players.

5. Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright (England): Good Twenty20 batsmen with vast experience in this format. Owais Shah has proved his abilities in the last one day series in India.

There will be no mad hysteria in this round of auction as many franchisees have learnt the tricks of the trade.


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