indianexpress.com :: Dhoni highest paid after round 1 bidding in IPL

Dhoni highest paid after round 1 bidding in IPL

Agencies

Posted online: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1152 hrs IST

Mumbai, February 20:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni outshone the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Muttiah Muralitharan as the Chennai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) made a whopping USD 1.5 million bid (approximately Rs six crore) to win the Indian one day captain in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Dhoni was clearly the star of the first round bidding with the Chennai franchise making an aggressive bid for the flamboyant stumper-batsman.

The Hyderabad franchise won Gilchrist with a USD 700,000 (app Rs 2.8 crore)bid, less than half of what Dhoni managed.

The Chennai side also managed to rope in Sri Lankan off-spinner Muralitharan for USD 600,000 (Rs 2.4 crore).

Retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was bought by Jaipur for USD 450, 000, while Mahela Jayawardene will be seen playing for the Mohali team, which shelled out USD 475,000 for the Sri Lankan captain.

Pakistan's enigmatic speedster Shoaib Akhtar was won by the Kolkata team for USD 425,000.

The franchisees will spend between USD 3.3-5 million to buy players from the pool.

A total of 78 players, both Indian and foreigners, will be up for grabs for the eight city-specific franchises who have bought teams by paying a total of USD 723.3 million to the BCCI-floated IPL for taking part in the April 18-June 1 Twenty20 League.

Five iconic players of India - Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Yuvraj Singh (Chandigarh) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) – are not part of the bid process as they have to play for their respective city franchises.

Each player has an annual base player fee. This base player fee assumes that the player is available for the entire season of the IPL season including, if applicable, the Champions League (expected to happen in October).

This fee will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis, depending on the availability of players in the first year.

Each franchisee will have to buy a minimum of 16 players, out of which four should be under-22 Indian players and as many from the catchment areas.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and key BCCI official IS Bindra, also the grounds and infrastructure chairman of the IPL, reached the hotel for the bidding earlier this morning.

Former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid also arrived even though they would not be part of the auction because of their 'icon' status.

Eminent bowling coach TA Sekar, who has been roped in to look after Delhi Daredevils' cricket operations, was spotted, as was VB Chandrashekhar, who is here as a selector with the Chennai franchise.

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Dhoni highest paid after round 1 bidding in IPL Agencies Posted online: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 1152 hrs IST Mumbai, February 20: Mahendra Singh Dhoni outshone the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Muttiah Muralitharan as the Chennai franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) made a whopping USD 1.5 million bid (approximately Rs six crore) to win the Indian one day captain in Mumbai on Wednesday. Dhoni was clearly the star of the first round bidding with the Chennai franchise making an aggressive bid for the flamboyant stumper-batsman. The Hyderabad franchise won Gilchrist with a USD 700,000 (app Rs 2.8 crore)bid, less than half of what Dhoni managed. The Chennai side also managed to rope in Sri Lankan off-spinner Muralitharan for USD 600,000 (Rs 2.4 crore). Retired Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was bought by Jaipur for USD 450, 000, while Mahela Jayawardene will be seen playing for the Mohali team, which shelled out USD 475,000 for the Sri Lankan captain. Pakistan's enigmatic speedster Shoaib Akhtar was won by the Kolkata team for USD 425,000. The franchisees will spend between USD 3.3-5 million to buy players from the pool. A total of 78 players, both Indian and foreigners, will be up for grabs for the eight city-specific franchises who have bought teams by paying a total of USD 723.3 million to the BCCI-floated IPL for taking part in the April 18-June 1 Twenty20 League. Five iconic players of India - Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata), Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), Yuvraj Singh (Chandigarh) and Virender Sehwag (Delhi) – are not part of the bid process as they have to play for their respective city franchises. Each player has an annual base player fee. This base player fee assumes that the player is available for the entire season of the IPL season including, if applicable, the Champions League (expected to happen in October). This fee will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis, depending on the availability of players in the first year. Each franchisee will have to buy a minimum of 16 players, out of which four should be under-22 Indian players and as many from the catchment areas. IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and key BCCI official IS Bindra, also the grounds and infrastructure chairman of the IPL, reached the hotel for the bidding earlier this morning. Former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid also arrived even though they would not be part of the auction because of their 'icon' status. Eminent bowling coach TA Sekar, who has been roped in to look after Delhi Daredevils' cricket operations, was spotted, as was VB Chandrashekhar, who is here as a selector with the Chennai franchise.