Chennai: Australia’s Glenn Maxwell was the star of the day at Indian Premier League auction as the youngster was bought by Mumbai Indians for a whopping USD 1 million (Rs 5.3 crore), the highest this season. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera and Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar too managed to get good deals.
However, the hype surrounding Australian captain Michael Clarke and now retired batsman Ricky Ponting appeared to be a fizz as, both did not generate much interest among the franchises. The two were sold on their base price of USD 400,000 (Rs 2.1 crore).
Abhishek Nayar, who was consistent in the domestic arena and has been included in India A team against Australia for the warm up game, went to Pune Warriors for USD 675,000 (Rs 3.5 crore), a lot more than his base price of USD 100,000. Thisara Perera also fetched Rs 3.5 crore from Hyderabad Sunrisers.
However the most surprising element of the day was Indian pacer R P Singh who managed to get a good deal of USD 400,000 (Rs 2.1 crore) from Royal Challengers Bangalore despite his lack of form in the previous season.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Maxwell was bought by Mumbai Indians in an otherwise low-key auction where 108 players went under the hammer. "He is an upcoming youngster. He can bat, bowl and I think he is a great fielder. We had thought of some names before we came here and he was one of them," said Mumbai owner Nita Ambani.
South African all-rounder Johan Botha was bought by Delhi Daredevils for USD 450,000 (Rs 2.3 crore) while Luke Pomersbach fetched a deal of USD 300,000 (Rs 1.5 crore) with Kings XI Punjab. West Indies captain Darren Sammy was purchased by Hyderabad Sunrisers for USD 425,000 (Rs 2.2 crore), while Australian James Faulkner was bought by Rajasthan Royals for USD 400,000 (Rs 2.1 crore) for him.
Sold players
Mumbai Indians
Ricky Ponting $400,000 (base price)
Phillip Hughes $100,000 (base price)
Glenn Maxwell $200,000 (base price) - sold for $1million
Nathan Coulter-Nile $100,000 (base price) - sold for $450,000
Jacob Oram $50,000 (base price)
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RP Singh $100,000 (base price) - sold for $400,000
Moises Henriques $100,000 (base price) - sold for $300,000
Jaydev Unadkat $100,000 (base price) - sold for $525,000
Pankaj Singh $50,000 (base price) - sold for $150,000
Ravi Rampaul $50,000 (base price) - sold for $290,000
Christopher Barnwell $50,000 (base price)
Daniel Christian $100,000 (base price)
Delhi Daredevils
Johan Botha $300,000 (base price) - sold for $450,000
Jesse Ryder $100,000 (base price) - sold for $260,000
Jeevan Mendis $50,000 (base price)
Pune Warriors India
Michael Clarke $400,000 (base price)
Abhishek Nayar (base price) $100,000 - sold for $675,000
Ajantha Mendis $50,000 (base price) - sold for $725,000
Kane Richardson $100,000 (base price) - sold for $700,000
Kings XI Punjab
Luke Pomersbach $50,000 (base price) - sold for $300,000
Manpreet Gony $200,000 (base price) - sold for $500,000
Rajasthan Royals
James Faulkner $100,000 (base price) - sold for $400,000
Fidel Edwards $100,000 (base price) - sold for $210,000
Kushal Perera $20,000 (base price)
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Thisara Perera $50,000 (base price) - sold for $675,000
Darren Sammy $100,000 (base price) - sold for $425,000
Sudeep Tyagi $100,000 (base price)
Nathan McCullum $100,000 (base price)
Quinton de Kock $20,000 (base price)
Clint McKay $100,000 (base price)
Chennai Super Kings
Dirk Nannes $200,000 (base price) - sold for $600,000
Chris Morris $20,000 (base price) - sold for $625,000
Ben Laughlin $20,000 (base price)
Akila Dananjaya $20,000 (base price)
Jason Holder $20,000 (base price)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Sachitra Senanayake $50,000 (base price) - sold for $625,000
Ryan McLaren $50,000 (base price)