Paycut for Pathan brothers; Yuvraj, Karthik hit jackpot
Thursday, 13 February 2014 00:00
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Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik were the two most expensive buys at half time on the first day of the seventh IPL auction in Bangalore, while the value of the Pathan brothers - Yusuf and Irfan - recorded a steep decline from 2011. Both Yuvraj and Karthik, who were part of the 16-player marquee lot that kicked off the auction, were fiercely contested by three franchises. Royal Challengers Bangalore made a successful bid for Yuvraj at rupees 14 crores ($ 2.33 million), while Delhi Daredevils bought Karthik for rupees 12.5 crores ($ 2.08 million).
Kevin Pietersen, the former England batsman whose international career was recently brought to an abrupt end by the ECB, remained a favourite in the IPL with Delhi Daredevils, his previous employers, becoming the first franchise to exercise the right-to-match card to buy him at rupees 9 crores ($ 1.5 million).
Yuvraj was previously part of the Pune Warriors franchise, who had bought him for $ 1.8 million in 2011. Yuvraj has been out of form recently and was not a part of the Asia Cup squad, but franchise insiders had revealed on the eve of the auction that he was still a key player in the IPL.
Mahela and Lankan players unsold still
Although it was too early to establish any trends, it was evident teams were not interested in buying Sri Lankan players. Mahela Jayawardene was the first player to remain unsold as franchises did not bid for Sri Lankan players, who are scheduled to tour England from May.
