The auction for the third season of the Indian Premier League was meant
to be a light affair without much hype. However, it turned out to be a much spoken
about event, what with three of the performers getting paid a huge sum of money,
apart from the fact that Pakistan did not have a single representation in the
final analysis. Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond were both paid a sum of
$750,000 by Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders to play for them in
the third season of the tournament. However, the respective franchises paid much
more to own thanks to the silent tie-breaker rule. Under this rule, if the franchises
had ended up bidding for the maximum amount allowed - i.e. $750,000 for this edition
- then every franchise had to jot down a figure that they were willing to pay
over and above this figure and the side writing down the highest would end up
winning the player. This extra amount will go to the IPL committee. There
were two such silent tie-breakers; Pollard had four teams gunning for him and
all four decided to bid all out for him. In the end, it was the Mumbai Indians
who won the player. Kolkata Knight Riders entered the bidding for the Kiwi pace
bowler, Bond a little late - at $640,000 - but went on to buy the player. There
were two other players who almost went the 'distance' and were bought close to
the maximum figure. Kemar Roach, the West Indian pace bowler with the ability
to crank up the pace to more than 140 km/hr on a regular basis, was bought by
Deccan Chargers for $720,000, whereas Wayne Parnell will play for Delhi for a
sum of $610,000. Apart from the above four, there were some other players
who were bought as well. They were, Mohammad Kaif from India (Punjab, $250,000),
Eoin Morgan from England (Bangalore, $220,000), Damien Martyn from Australia (Rajasthan,
$100,000), Justin Kemp from South Africa (Chennai, $100,000), Thissara Perera
from Sri Lanka (Chennai, $50,000), Adam Voges from Australia (Rajasthan,
$50,000), Yusuf Abdulla from South Africa (Punjab, $50,000). Kaif was the
only Indian, and despite not being bid for by any franchise, he was signed up
by the Kings XI Punjab. The surprising part was that none of the Pakistani
players were bid for and hence, there will be no Pakistani representation for
the tournament. A visibly irritated Shahid Afridi said that the tournament will
be a poorer place without them.
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