Franchises get down to business
published:
Friday | February 22, 2008
Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly (right) arrives for the auction of cricket players for the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Wednesday. India's one-day skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, attracted the highest price of US$1.5 million in the first round of bidding. - AP
NEW DELHI (AP):
A DAY after their frenetic spending bonanza, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises got down to the pragmatic business of running their teams yesterday, with two months until the competition begins.
Having created new cricket millionaires in Wednesday's player auction, owners must now turn to organising their teams on the field and off ahead of the April 18 start of the Twenty20 competition.
Calcutta emerged as the biggest spender at the auction, splurging US$6,117,500 (€4,149,708). The spending reflected the glamour associated with Bollywood film star part-owner Shah Rukh Khan.
Fans in Calcutta were excited at the prospect of seeing Australia skipper Ricky Ponting and Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar line up alongside former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Ganguly was pleased with the players Calcutta acquired in bidding, with promising India bowler Irfan Pathan, West Indies opener Chris Gayle and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum as their other significant purchases.
"The team we've got is fine, you don't need too many batsmen in Twenty20 cricket," Ganguly was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India.
The excitement in Calcutta prompted concert performer Usha Uthup to preview her team song on independent New Delhi Television.
Multimillion-dollar auction
Franchise owners spent nearly US$42 million (€28.49 million) on procuring 75 players at the auction.
India's Twenty20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni attracted the maximum bid - of US$1.5 million - from the southern Chennai team.
His fee attracted the most headlines. 'Chennai pays King's ransom for Dhoni' said the front-page headline in The Economic Times, India's widest-circulated business paper.
Dhoni's parents seemed concerned about the massive salary distracting their son, currently leading India's team in a limited-overs tri-series in Australia.
Dhoni's father, Pan Singh, wanted the India skipper to "keep his feet firmly on the ground".
"More than the monetary aspect, it's important that he lives up to the expectations of his fans, supporters and the country," Singh was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times newspaper's website.
Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mohali all went over the spending cap of US$5 million (€3.41 million) but are expected to dip below that maximum once they juggle the non-availability period of some players.
Heavy spending
However, Jaipur faced a different problem as it fell short of the mandatory minimum bidding amount of US$3.5 million (€2.39 million).
Jaipur spent US$2,925,000 (€1,984,127) in buying eight players and will now be penalised by the IPL. It will have to deposit the difference with the IPL governing board.
Shrugging off the setback, Jaipur's executives turned to the brand-building business. It contracted a leading advertising agency to position their brand prominently among fans.
Jaipur spent most on Indians Mohammad Kaif and Yusuf Pathan, topping the amounts laid out for former Australia superstar Shane Warne and current South Africa captain Graeme Smith. That differential was repeated throughout the auction, with owners eager to spend heavily on Indian players in the hope of wooing fans, with foreign players largely going cheaply.
The teams
Bangalore: x-Rahul Dravid, India, US$1.035 million, Jacques Kallis, South Africa, US$900,000, Anil Kumble, India, US$500,000, Cameron White, Australia, US$500,000, Zaheer Khan, Bangalore, US$ 450,000, Mark Boucher, South Africa, US$450,000, Nathan Bracken, Australia, US$325,000, Dale Steyn, South Africa, US$325,000, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, West Indies, US$200,000, Wasim Jaffer, India, US$150,000.
Calcutta: x-Sourav Ganguly, India, US$$1.092 million, Ishant Sharma, India, US$950,000, Chris Gayle, West Indies, US$800,000, Brendon McCullum, New Zealand, US$700,000, David Hussey, Australia, US$625,000, Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan, US$425,000, Murali Karthik, India, US$425,000, Ricky Ponting, Australia, US$400,000, Ajit Agarkar, India, US$350,000, Umar Gul, Pakistan, US$150,000 Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwe, US$125,000.
Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India, $1.5 million, Jacob Oram, New Zealand, US$675,000, Albie Morkel, South Africa, US$675,000, Suresh Raina, India, US$650,000, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka, US$600,000, Matthew Hayden, Australia, US$375,000, Stephen Fleming, New Zealand, US$350,000, Michael Hussey, Australia, US$350,000, Parthiv Patel, India, US$325,000, Joginder Sharma, India, US$225,000, Makhaya Ntini, South Africa, US$200,000.
Delhi: x-Virender Sehwag, India, US$833,750, Gautam Gambhir, India, US$725,000, Manoj Tiwari, India, US$675,000, Mohammad Asif, Pakistan, US$650,000, Daniel Vettori, New Zealand, US$625,000, Dinesh Karthik, India, US$525,000, Shoaib Malik, Pakistan, US$ 500,000, Glenn McGrath, Australia, US$350,000, A.B. de Villiers, South Africa, US$300,000, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka, US$250,000, Farveez Maharoof, Sri Lanka, US$225,000.
Hyderabad: Andrew Symonds, Australia, US$1.35 million, R.P. Singh, India, US$875,000, Rohit Sharma, India, US$750,000, Adam Gilchrist, Australia, US$700,000, Shahid Afridi, Pakistan, US$675,000, Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa, US$575,000, V.V.S. Laxman, India, US$375,000, Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka, US$200,000, Scott Styris, New Zealand, US$175,000, Nuwan Zoysa, Sri Lanka, US$110,000, Chamara Silva, Sri Lanka, US$100,000.
Jaipur: Mohammad Kaif, India, US$675,000, Graeme Smith, South Africa, US$475,000, Yusuf Pathan, India, US$475,000, Shane Warne, Australia, US$450,000, Munaf Patel, India, US$275,000, Younis Khan, Pakistan, US$225,000, Justin Langer, Australia, US$200,000, Kamran Akmal, Pakistan, US$150,000.
Mohali: x-Yuvraj Singh, India, US$1.064 million, Irfan Pathan, India, US$925,000, Brett Lee, Australia, US$900,000, Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka, US$700,000, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, India, US$625,000, Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka, US$475,000, Piyush Chawla, India, US$400,000, Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indies, US$225,000, Simon Katich, Australia, US$200,000, Romesh Pawar, India, US$170,000.
Mumbai: x-Sachin Tendulkar, India, US$1.121 million, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka, US$975,000, Harbhajan Singh, India, US$850,000, Robin Uthappa, India, US$800,000, Shaun Pollock, South Africa, US$550,000, Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka, US$350,000, Loots Bosman, South Africa, US$150,000, Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka, US$150,000.
