IPL 4 auction ends,RCB picks Kaif,Kartik goes to Pune

Earlier,unheralded Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian was bought for an astounding USD 900,000 (RS 4.14 crore apprx) by Deccan Chargers while veteran Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya found no takers on the second day of the auctions for the fourth edition of IPL here today.

After intense bidding for the top players on the first day which saw Indian opener Gautam Gambhir being bought for a record-smashing 11.04 crore,it was a quieter affair on the second day with only 35 players being sold and 85 remaining unsold. Former ODI specialist Mohammed Kaif and Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas also found no takers.

In a relatively low-key day,it was Christian who hogged the limelight as he was bought by Deccan 18 times more than his base price of USD 50,000.

No one could have even imagined that the 27-year-old from New South Wales will go for such a price. He has played three T20 internationals for Australia. Christian is primarily a fast bowler who can hit a long way in the lower order.

“We believe Dan Christian is a good buy. He is good fast bowler and a decent batsman. He is also a brilliant fielder,” Chargers owner Gayathri Reddy said.

Delhi Daredevils were the biggest gainers as they snapped up fringe fast bowlers. Umesh Yadav with a base price of USD 50,000 went for a whopping USD 750,000 while former KKR pacer Ashok Dinda was bought for USD 375,000. Veteran pacer Ajit Agarkar was bought for USD 210,000.

Munaf Patel was bought by Mumbai Indians for USD 700,000 (appr Rs 3.1 crore) while Mohammed Kaif went unsold at the auction.

Ranganath Vinay Kumar was bought by Kochi for USD 475,000 while Manpreet Gony was bought by Deccan for USD 290,000.

However,paceman VRV Singh was a prominent Indian player who went unsold.

Chennai Super Kings who have been on a retention mode also got back Sudeep Tyagi (USD 240,000),Joginder Sharma (USD 150,000) while roping in Suraj Randiv for as cheap as USD 80,000.

It was,however,Kolkata Knight Riders who poached L Balaji from CSK for USD 500,000. The KKR retained Jaidev Unadkat buying him for USD 250,000.

There were a few surprises also as unfancied Netherlands cricketer Ryan ten Doeschate was bought for USD 150,000 by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Doeschate was ICC’s Associate Player of the Year.

Another surprising move was India discard Venugopal Rao getting a staggering deal of USD 700,000 (Rs 3.22 crore)from Delhi Daredevils.

Sahara Pune Warriors,who remained quiet for the better part of the first session,got a good deal in South African pacer Wayne Parnell (USD 160,000) and West Indian Jerome Taylor (USD 100,000).

There was some stiff bidding between Pune and Kings XI Punjab for Australian Mitchell Marsh. However,the junior-most Marsh will play for Pune under his father Geoff Marsh’s tutelage rather than being a teammate of his elder brother Shaun.

Michael Yardy of England,Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills of New Zealand,Ravi Bopara,Monty Panesar and Tim Bresnan of England and Fervez Mahroof of Sri Lanka,Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies,Makhaya Ntini and Lonwabo Tsotsobe of South Africa were among the prominent players who went unsold.

Gambhir had yesterday become the costliest cricketer in the IPL by fetching a whopping USD 2.4 million (approx Rs 11.04 crore) on the first day of the auctions where Indian players proved to be the biggest draw with three others going for more than USD two million.

In a high-profile auction,Kolkata Knight Riders bought Gambhir for the mind-boggling sum,beating the previous high set by the English duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff (USD 1.55 million) last season.

Gambhir,who was captain of the Delhi Daredevils last season,saw his price skyrocket 12 times from his base price of USD 200,000 (Rs 92 lakh) while three other Indian players — Yusuf (USD 2.1 million),Rohit Sharma (USD 2 million) and Robin Uthappa (2.1 million) crossed the two million mark.

Yusuf’s younger brother Irfan,who has not played any cricket this season,was taken by Delhi Daredevils for a surprisingly high amount of USD 1.9 (Rs 8.74 crore) million.