Press Trust of India
Bangalore, Feb 16: Unexpectedly Yuvraj Singh emerged as the costliest ever buy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by going for a whopping Rs 16 crore to Delhi Daredevils in the eighth players’ auctions here Monday. The surprise of the day however, came when off-spinner KC Cariappa was bought for Rs 2.40 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders.
In a relatively low key auction, Yuvraj triggered an unexpected bidding war with four teams vying for the 33-year-old cricketer’s services before Delhi Daredevils clinched the deal for a record price. That Yuvraj, who had been bought for Rs 14 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) last year, went for such a big price came as a huge surprise given the fact that he is no longer in the Indian team.
“I think we learnt from last year that if we want a player we need to push hard for him. Hence we were prepared to go all the way with Yuvraj and it’s great for the player as well,” Delhi coach Gary Kirsten said justifying the record bid for Yuvraj.
Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathew (Rs 7.5 crore to DD), New Zealand pacer Trent Boult (Rs 3.80 crore to Sunrisers Hyderabad), Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra (Rs 3.50 crore to DD) and Australian opener Aaron Finch (Rs 3.20 crore to Mumbai Indians) were among those who fetched a good price at the auction.
Yuvraj, who carried a base price of rupees two crore, was sold after a fierce tug of war for his services between DD and RCB, who bought him last year for Rs 14 crore. Initially, there was four-way bidding among Rajasthan Royals (RR), RCB, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and DD to buy India’s 2011 World Cup hero. But once the bidding reached rupees seven crore RR and KXIP quit leaving DD and RCB in the fray.
DD CEO Hemant Dua said Yuvraj would fill in the gap of having an icon player in the IPL side and the sponsors would like it. “We did not expect Yuvraj to go for that price. Yes, he is a very valuable asset. More than cricket, he brings in charisma. He brings in brand role to the team, and I am sure the sponsors would like that,” stated Dua.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) coach Tom Moody said his side wanted former England captain Kevin Pietersen, who was bought for rupees two crore (base price), even solely as a batsman.
Asked about Pietersen and current England ODI captain Eoin Morgan being in the same side, Moody said, “My understanding is that they are best friends. So, we are very comfortable to have both the players in the team.”
Most expensive buys
Name Team Price
Yuvraj Singh DD Rs 16 crore
Dinesh Karthik RCB Rs 10.5 crore
Angelo Mathews DD Rs 7.5 crore
James Neesham KKR Rs 5.00 crore
Zaheer Khan DD Rs 4.00 crore
Trent Boult SRH Rs 3.80 crore
Amit Mishra DD Rs 3.50 crore
Aaron Finch MI Rs 3.20 crore
Murali Vijay KXIP Rs 3.00 crore
