Day 1 of the IPL Auction sent everyone’s tongues wagging as the franchises spent their moolahs on big name players. Amongst them, Royal Challengers Bangalore set the bar high with raking in T20 star Yuvraj Singh for a whopping Rs. 14 crore whereas Delhi Daredevils kept splashing the cash with a 12.5 crore package to bring in wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik back in their camp.
Day 1 of the IPL Auction sent everyone’s tongues wagging as the franchises spent their moolahs on big name players.
Amongst them, Royal Challengers Bangalore set the bar high with raking in T20 star Yuvraj Singh for a whopping Rs. 14 crores.
Whereas Delhi Daredevils kept splashing the cash with a 12.5 crores package to bring in wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik back in their camp.
Enough said, there were some bids made to players that did not deserve the cash and vice versa. Here are those players, we think, who deserved and did not deserve the extra buck:
Mohammad Shami:
Indian pace bowler Mohammad Shami was raked in by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 4.25 crores on day 1 of the IPL 7 auctions. The West Bengal bowler has been in terrific form off late with the ball for the Indian cricket team and the performances deserved more money than he received at the auctions.
Virender Sehwag:
Former Delhi Daredevils player, Virender Sehwag was a surprise pick in the Kings XI Punjab side that bought him for Rs 3.2 crores. For a player who has been out from the Indian cricket team and with a poor Ranji season behind him, even a crore would have been dodgy. The Punjab side have taken a certain ‘risk’ with the Delhi dasher and hope it’s worth their every penny.
Michael Hussey
We surely do not know what the Mumbai Indians think-tank were upto when they bought Aussie veteran Michael Hussey for a massive Rs. 5 crores. Yes, Sachin Tendulkar is no more in their team and Hussey does fill in the boots of a ‘iconic’ player but shelling out that amount can be a dicey call!
Piyush Chawla:
Another player who has been on the outskirts of the Indian cricket team but still gets Rs 4.25 crores paid by Kolkata Knight Riders. Piyush Chawla is still counted as the best spinner in the Indian domestic scene but did KKR require his services? Could they have opted for a better option?
Kevin Pietersen:
The name itself speaks volumes, Kevin Pietersen might be a ‘discard’ back home in England but in India, he still is considered as one of the finest T20 player. When Delhi shelled out Rs. 9 crores on him, even the English administrators might have been baffled by the money spent on the South African-born cricketer. The tabloids in England will surely keep a tab on the IPL season this year!
Corey Anderson:
The New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson was the ‘hot pick’ in the IPL auctions and no wonder Mumbai Indians grabbed the opportunity of bidding Rs. 4.50 crores. The southpaw who holds the record of hitting the fastest ton in ODI history is surely going to be a ‘eye catcher’ come this season. But was he worth that money?
Finally, at the end of day 1 of the IPL 7 auctions, money minting was the primary motive as many teams shelled out crores of Rupees on players from India and abroad. Even though cricket as a sport took a backseat, when the tournament arrives, will Yuvraj Singh be remembered as the 14 crores man or as the flamboyant T20 star who was once amongst the stars!
