Knight Riders buys Gambhir for a record $2.4 million

Indian players most sought-after at IPL auction in Bangalore

Left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a record $ 2.4 million (for each year) on the first day of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Bangalore on Saturday.

England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who went for $ 1.55 million each in 2009, jointly held the record for the previous highest price. The players were signed up by the franchises for a two-year period. This could be enhanced by an additional season if the cricketer and the franchise reached an agreement.

New entrants

The auction, before IPL Season-4, included new entrants Pune Warriors and the franchise from Kochi, making it a total of 10 teams.

On a day when the Indian players dominated, big-hitters Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa were purchased by KKR and Pune Warriors respectively for a whopping $ 2.1 million each. Mumbai Indians won stroke-maker Rohit Sharma for $ 2 million, while Delhi Daredevils claimed all-rounder Irfan Pathan for $ 1.9 million. The influential Yuvraj Singh was picked up by Pune Warriors for $ 1.8 million. These were the top six successful bids for the day.

Smooth-stroking Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene was the most expensive foreign buy on day one — he was won by the Kochi franchise for $ 1.5 million. Yet this amount was lesser than the $ 1.6 million Royal Challengers Bangalore paid for a fringe Indian cricketer in Sourabh Tiwary.

There was no Pakistani player listed in the auction.

Gayle, Lara unsold

Significantly, power-hitter Chris Gayle, the legendary Brian Lara and the iconic Sourav Ganguly remained unsold. Interestingly, the franchises did not display any interest in Graeme Swann, among the leading contemporary spinners, and probing swing bowler James Anderson. Both represent a resurgent England side that emerged triumphant in the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies last year.

The availability of some of the overseas players during the IPL was among the factors which determined bidding by the franchises

If any of the franchises expresses interest in any cricketer who missed out on day one, his name can come up in the auction again on Sunday.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), holder of both the IPL and Champions League titles, lost spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan (signed up for $ 1.1 million) to the Kochi franchise but succeeded in buying back off-spinner R. Ashwin ($ 850,000), S. Badrinath ($800,000) and Michael Hussey ($ 425,000). CSK had earlier kept its four leading players (M.S. Dhoni for $1.8 million, Suresh Raina, $ 1.3 million, M. Vijay, $ 900,000 and Albie Morkel, $ 500,000) using up the maximum available limit of $ 4.5 million for retaining players without auction from a total of purse of $ 9 million.

After day one, Royal Challengers Bangalore spent $7.95 million out of $9 million, the most by a franchise in this auction so far.