IPL Day 1 :Royal Challengers Banglore vs Rajasthan Royals

Well … well … well… its all gonna start today…? The winners taking on the underdogs….

So whats the recap for it ? 

Rajasthan Royals : 
They are without Sohail Tanveer and Tait is also not available this season.. We believe Watsan is there…  What should be there strategy ? whom should they bet on ?

Warne, Smith and Watsan get in automatically, and hence they are left with one non-indian option, probably Henderson…  Kamran Khan, Munaf Patel, Jadega, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Ashnodkar are sure to be there in the squad. Who will take the remaining spots ? who will be the surprise package ?

lets wait and see… 

 

Royal Challengers Banglore :

Kevin Peterson all the way is the man on the spot light… Though i personally believe Boucher and Kallis does not deserve to be there in the side in the likes of Ryder, Taylor, van der werwe, but I have no idea what the team feels… Rahul Dravid and Kumble has performed a lot better than what people interpreted as their performance..  Its a tough call to make a 11 team for Banglore, which I believe to be a lot stronger now… 

Well, its time for my prediction——

 

 

Hmmm….. I give this one to Royal Challengers Banglore… Though Im not sure if BCCI could let Rajastan Royals down in the first game itself, but still, RCB is a far better team than RR now…

Rajastan Royals High on Shaun Tait and Tyron Henderson

Darren Berry, the Rajasthan Royals’ director of coaching, has said Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait could make an “enormous” impression during the IPL’s second edition if he is available for the whole season. Although Rajasthan, the inaugural champions, will miss the services of Pakistan left-armer Sohail Tanvir, the highest wicket-taker in 2008, Berry believed Tait could be as destructive with his pace as Tanvir was with his lethal swing.

“I’m extremely excited about the fastest bowler in the world: Shaun Tait. He has been out of the Australian team for a period but both [Shane] Warne and myself are quite close to Tait and believe he could have a significant impact in the IPL. Depending on his selection for the Australian ODI team [against Pakistan], we will have him for at least half of the tournament and his presence will be enormous. He is crucial given Tanvir’s absence this year,” Berry said at a media conference to announce Rajasthan’s three latest overseas signings.

While Rob Quiney, the hard-hitting Victorian top-order batsman, has been picked as an uncapped signing , Shane Harwood, the Victorian fast bowler, and Queensland allrounder Lee Carseldine have been signed as replacements for the Pakistan pair of Tanvir and Kamran Akmal.

Berry said Rajasthan were aware the expectations will be much higher after their “fairytale” triumph in the inaugural season. “Last year after the defeat in the first game against Delhi Daredevils I read headlines that Rajasthan were the circus of the IPL. The story that unfolded after that was like a fairytale.

“This is a new group of players, a new season and all other franchises will be looking to beat Rajasthan Royals. Last year we were the underdogs and this year we are the top dogs, but we still confident.”

According to Berry, the team’s approach will not change much, a fact reflected during the auction recently in Goa. The team and the management both wanted to go for players who would be available for the seven weeks and not seven days – the main reason why Rajasthan did not go for the big signings.

As they had done last year, Rajasthan once again decided to bid for unknown names instead of the big stars. Tyron Henderson was one such name. Popular for his exploits in the shorter format in South Africa and England, Rajasthan faced stiff competition from Deccan Chargers in their pursuit to buy him. Eventually Rajasthan pipped Hyderabad to bag Henderson, their second-most expensive player, for $650,000.

Berry said Henderson, a South African by birth who moved to England through the Kolpak route, was recommended strongly by South Africa captain Graeme Smith and Jeremy Snape, part of Rajasthan’s coaching staff. Berry said Henderson’s match-winning abilities – he is the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket and can hold the innings in the middle with his powerful hitting – made him an attractive purchase.

“That was a wonderful signing and that was reflected in the auction where there was intense rivalry for signing him. He will be an option in our middle order and his bowling is very, very good towards the end of a Twenty20 innings.”

Mortaza Reacts to his Bidding

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh allrounder, has said his lucrative IPL contract is a reward for hard work and a consistent season. Mortaza, 25, was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for $600,000 after a protracted bidding war with Kings XI Punjab that saw his value shoot up to 12 times the base price.

“Obviously I am pleased. I feel this is a result of all the hard work I have put in over the years and also a reward for being consistent this season,” Mortaza told PTI.

Mortaza’s value to Kolkata was no surprise, both in cricketing terms – the Knight Riders are without Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul – and as a “local hero”, given his ethnicity. What did raise eyebrows was Punjab’s relentless bidding, and Mortaza offered one explanation for that. He said Yuvraj Singh, the Kings XI Punjab captain, had promised him to take him on. “I often had conversations with Yuvraj and he said he would take me in his side,” Mortaza, who figures at No. 8 in the ICC ODI rankings, was quoted as saying.

That Punjab’s pursuit of Mortaza was not just a red-herring to catch Kolkata off guard was confirmed by franchise stake-holder Preity Zinta. “Mortaza is a great player, an all-rounder and we wanted him. But you win some, you lose some,” she said.

Mortaza is excited about playing in Kolkata, and under Sourav Ganguly. “I have lots of friends and fans in India. I love being there and it is a pleasure to play in India, he said. “Kolkata is just next door and I know how much people there admire Bangladeshi cricketers… my challenge is to go over there and prove my worth.”

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, said he thought Mortaza’s signing made great business sense for Kolkata. “We were all very surprised (at Mortaza’s price tag), but it makes great sense for them. Bangladesh falls in Kolkata’s catchment area under a new proposal we are discussing on letting franchises stage matches overseas. This could work well for KKR later.”

Mortaza’s windfall was acclaimed by his captain, Mohammad Ashraful – who himself was signed up by the Mumbai Indians. “I am very happy for Mash [Mortaza] as he has been outstanding day in and day out for us.”

The one Bangladesh player who surprisingly didn’t make the cut, though, was Shakib Al Hasan, and Mortaza spared a thought for him. “I would have been a lot happier if Shakib had got a team because he truly deserved it for his sensational form with the bat and ball,” he said.

Duminy reacts to his bidding :-)

JP Duminy, the South African batsman, has admitted his initial reaction to being bought for US$ 950,000, which is more than thrice his base price, was one of utter shock. Duminy, who was picked up by the Mumbai Indians after a fierce bout of bidding in Goa on Friday morning, said he did not know what to expect in the build-up to the auction.

“It is still difficult to believe. To be honest, my expectations were just to get a contract,” he told reporters in South Africa. “The pressure is going to be there, after they paid that amount of money. But I back myself to perform under that pressure. I put myself under quite a lot of pressure to perform in Australia, especially in the one day series. I had an iffish one day series in England and wanted to show what I could do at this level.”

Duminy made a mark on his Test debut in December, hitting an unbeaten half-century to help AB de Villiers take South Africa to a record win in Perth. The 24-year-old left-hander followed that up with a 166 in Melbourne to give his team the series. He also scored 78 and an unbeaten 69 in the two Twenty20 internationals that followed, and averaged 61.66 in South Africa’s 4-1 ODI series win.

Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, has admitted that he is “absolutely over the moon” for his team’s new middle-order star. Duminy “deserves every dollar” because of the hard work he has put into his game over the last year, Arthur said.

“JP is a three-in-one player who has the ability to score very quickly, is a brilliant fielder and a useful bowler,” Arthur told Cricinfo. “He is also a level-headed and intelligent young cricketer. On top of that, he has just come off a great tour in Australia to put himself up on the shop window.”

Arthur also attributed Duminy’s price tag to the fact that South African cricketers would be available for almost the entire duration of this IPL, unlike players from England and Australia. “JP had been identified quite early by the South African team management as a player for the future,” Arthur said. “We always had a plan for him, and that’s why we took him into the team and kept him there. Now, he is getting the fruits of all the hard labour.”

Arthur admitted that there was also an element of luck involved in Duminy’s rise – he got to play against Australia only because Ashwell Prince got injured. “But he grabbed the opportunity with both hands,” he said.

Tyron Henderson

Tyron Henderson was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for $650,000, making him their second-most expensive player (Yusuf Pathan retains that slot). To put it in perspective, Rajasthan had paid only $450,000 and $475,000 for Shane Warne and Graeme Smith last year. Nor did they get Henderson, 34, without a fight – the Deccan Chargers kept bidding until the $600,000 mark. So what’s so special about him? Very simply, he’s the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 matches, with 74 wickets in 62 games at an average of 21 and an economy rate below seven. He’s played for the Cape Cobras in South Africa, and Middlesex in England, and is nicknamed ‘The Blacksmith’.

Complete list of Auctions and Prices, unsold guys

Shaun Tait to Rajasthan Royals 375,000 (250,000)
JP Duminy to Mumbai Indians 950,000 (300,000)
Andrew Flintoff to Chennai Super Kings 1.55 million (950,000)
Kevin Pietersen to Bangalore Royal Challengers 1.55 million (1.35 million)
Fidel Edwards to Deccan Chargers 150,000 (150,000)
Owais Shah to Delhi Daredevils 275,000 (150,000)
Paul Collingwood to Delhi 275,000 (250,000) 
Tyron Henderson to Rajasthan 650,000 (100,000)
Ravi Bopara to Kings XI Punjab 450,000 (150,000)
Thilan Thushara to Chennai 140,000 (100,000)
Jesse Ryder to Bangalore 160,000 (100,000)
Kyle Mills to Mumbai 150,000 (150,000).
Dwayne Smith to Deccan Chargers 100,000 (100,000)
Jerome Taylor to Punjab 150,000 (150,000)
Mohammad Ashraful to Mumbai 75,000 (75,000)
Mashrafe Mortaza to Kolkata Knight Riders 600,000 (50,000)
George Bailey to Chennai 50,000 (50,000)
 

Unsold players: Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Chamara Kapugedara, Ashwell Prince, Phil Jaques, Andre Nel, Luke Wright, Nuwan Kulasekara, Samit Patel, Shakib Al Hasan, Morne van Wyk, Steven Smith, Ashley Noffke, Gulam Bodi, Daren Powell, Tamim Iqbal, Jon Moss, Bryce McGain, James Franklin, Aiden Blizzard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Michael Klinger, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Prasanna Jayawardene, Dominic Thornley, Yusuf Abdulla, Daniel Harris, Kemar Roach, Aaron Bird, Michael Dighton, Michael Hill and Brett Geeves.

Complete IPL 2009 Preview and Review

angalore Royal Challengers

When the team rosters were fixed last season, many commented on how the Bangalore squad was in stark contrast to the flamboyant image of its owner Vijay Mallya. A ‘Test batting line-up’ comprising Rahul Dravid, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jacques Kallis and Wasim Jaffer now has a limited-overs sheen with the induction of Kevin Pietersen, New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder and local boy Robin Uthappa. Although Bangalore sold Zaheer Khan, they are boosted by the availability of Nathan Bracken, injured through the first season. However, like Pietersen, he might be available only for a limited period. Though the attack will be led by Dale Steyn, there are a few doubts over Bangalore’s ability with the ball. Anil Kumble is unlikely to play and Praveen Kumar is their only current India international on the flat tracks of the subcontinent. 

Probable XI: 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Kevin Pietersen/ Ross Taylor 5 Virat Kohli, 6 B Akhil/ Jacques Kallis, 7 Mark Boucher/ Shreevats Goswami (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9, 10 Nathan Bracken/Vinay Kumar, 11 Dale Steyn.

 

Kolkata Knight Riders

The big boost for Kolkata is the availability of explosive New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum – who scored the most famous Twenty20 century in last year’s tournament opener – for the whole season. Chris Gayle was unfit last time around and Kolkata will bank on his all-round abilities to help them build early momentum before he leaves for national duty. Mashrafe Mortaza, a popular signing at the auction, could find it hard to fill Umar Gul’s shoes but Ajantha Mendis could be their ace. Ishant Sharma flopped last season but he has vastly improved his skills for the limited-overs game in the past year. Also in the mix are local lad Ashok Dinda, who impressed last season, and former India internationals Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik, one of the key bowlers in Middlesex’s successful Twenty20 campaign. 

While Ricky Ponting and allrounder David Hussey may be called on for national duty, fellow Australians Brad Hodge and Moises Henriques, the young New South Wales allrounder, will fill the breach. Cheteshwar Pujara, considered by many to be an India prospect, could well be a value addition.

Probable XI: 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Chris Gayle/Brad Hodge, 3 Sourav Ganguly, 4 David Hussey/ Moises Henriques, 5 Cheteshwar Pujara, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 Laxmi Shukla, 8 Murali Kartik, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Ashok Dinda, 11 Ajantha Mendis.

 

Deccan Chargers

They finished bottom last season but their moves this time don’t inspire much optimism. Deccan’s batting woes were well documented – Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs and Scott Styris failed to make an impact – but their bowling was the weakest in the competition. RP Singh was unable to repeat his ICC World Twenty20 heroics, while Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa posed little threat. This time, Deccan brought Fidel Edwards and another West Indian, the allrounder Dwayne Smith, having signed Australian allrounder Ryan Harris before the auction. Edwards is quick but he can be an expensive gamble in the Twenty20 format. Good news for Deccan will be left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha’s impressive tour of Sri Lanka with India. 

In the batting department, only Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao performed well last season. Deccan will be keeping close tabs on Andrew Symonds. If his exclusion from the Australian side is prolonged, Symonds could be available for the entire season, a much-needed boost for the side. Whether VVS Laxman, who was replaced as captain, will be a regular in the team this year remains to be seen.

Probable XI: Adam Gilchrist (wk), 2 D Ravi Teja, 3 Andrew Symonds/Herschelle Gibbs, 4 Rohit Sharma, 5 Venugopal Rao 6 Dwayne Smith/ Scott Styris, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Pragyan Ojha, 9 Chaminda Vaas/Nuwan Zoysa/Fidel Edwards, 10 RP Singh, 11 D Kalyankrishna.

 

Kings XI Punjab

Punjab, semi-finalists last season, are largely sticking to the line-up that helped them succeed last year. Their only signings this season are West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor and England allrounder Ravi Bopara. Opener Shaun Marsh could be away on duty for Australia and that would be a concern for Punjab, with Brett Lee and James Hopes also set to miss out. They bid frantically for Mortaza, perhaps to ensure having a bowler available for the entire season. A surprising fact that emerged at the auction was that Ramnaresh Sarwan was not on a three-year contract with Punjab – he remained unsold at this auction. What could be worrying, though, is the form of Sreesanth, whose fortunes too have been on the wane since he picked up an injury during the tournament last season. Punjab’s Indian bowlers had done the trick last season, and their team could suffer if that is not the case this time. 

Probable XI: 1 Shaun Marsh/ Luke Pomersbach 2 James Hopes/ Sunny Sohal, 3 Kumar Sangakkara/ Uday Kaul (wk), 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Ravi Bopara/ Mahela Jayawardene, 6 Tanmay Srivastava/ Sohal 7 Karan Goel 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Sreesanth, 11 VRV Singh/ Brett Lee.

 

Chennai Super Kings

Imposing is the word that best describes Chennai’s squad after the second auction. A team modelled around Mahendra Singh Dhoni now has the inspirational Andrew Flintoff – commanding a higher salary than Dhoni – and Matthew Hayden is also available for the full tournament. Hard-hitting allrounder Albie Morkel, Man of the Series in Australia recently, is another of the team’s key players, and the embarrassing wealth of talent shows in the fact that Michael Hussey, Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacob Oram have been overshadowed. Flintoff bolsters the bowling while Sri Lankan left-armer Thilan Thushara could be the dark horse among the foreign recruits. Chennai’s third signing at the auction was Tasmanian batsman George Bailey, but he is unlikely to feature given the team has consistent performers in Suresh Raina and S Badrinath. Another big plus is that barring Flintoff and Hussey, all their foreign recruits are available for most of the season. 

Probable XI: 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Michael Hussey/S Vidyut, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 5 S Badrinath 6 Albie Morkel, 7 Andrew Flintoff/ Jacob Oram/ Joginder Sharma, 8 Manpreet Gony, 9 L Balaji 10 Muttiah Muralitharan, 11 Makhaya Ntini/ P Amarnath.

 

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi no longer have Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, but their line-up is even more dangerous this season because of David Warner and the England duo of Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood. Delhi have reason to be pleased with their homework before the Goa auction; their scouts had been lurking around Australia and they have brought in potential impact players. Warner’s sensational Twenty20 international debut against South Africa whet the appetite and there are other hopefuls from Australia in allrounder Andrew McDonald, who too debuted for Australia after joining Delhi, and left-arm fast bowler Dirk Nannes, an out-and-out Twenty20 specialist. 

 

	Dirk Nannes is a handy addition to a formidable Delhi Daredevils pace attack © Getty Images

 

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are undoubtedly the most potent opening combination in the tournament, while Glenn McGrath and Daniel Vettori bring the experience to the bowling. The likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik have been in good touch so far this year. With most of their foreign players free for tournament, the only headache for Delhi could be getting their XI right.

Probable XI: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 4 Manoj Tiwary/ David Warner, 5 AB de Villiers / Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Rajat Bhatia, 7 Daniel Vettori 8 Amit Mishra/ Ashish Nehra, 9 Farveez Maharoof/ Yo Mahesh, 10 Dirk Nannes/ Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Glenn McGrath.

 

Rajasthan Royals

The inaugural champions managed to work out a winning formula under the guidance of Shane Warne, and expect more of the same this year too. Their Indian players were not the best of the lot, but Warne turned them into a formidable unit, and found two highly successful foreign recruits in Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson. Tanvir is unavailable and Watson doubtful due to Australia’s schedule and fitness worries, but Rajasthan have found adequate replacements at the auction. Shaun Tait is tailor-made for Twenty20, capable of short bursts of quick bowling, and Tyron Henderson, one of the surprise picks at US$650,000, has been highly successful for Middlesex. It will be a tall order to match Watson’s heroics from last season, but Henderson is an impact player in this format. The team will also be boosted by the availability of Morne Morkel and Justin Langer. Both missed the inaugural edition due to their commitments with English counties. 

Dimitri Mascarenhas could also fill in as an allrounder but Rajasthan’s main worry would be Graeme Smith. His might undergo surgery on his elbow after Australia’s visit to South Africa, which could put his IPL participation in doubt. Nonetheless, the champions have proven themselves with lesser-known names.

Probable XI: 1 Graeme Smith/Niraj Patel/ Justin Langer 2 Swapnil Asnodkar, 3 Mohammad Kaif,, 4 Shane Watson/ Tyron Henderson/ Dimitri Mascarenhas 5, Yusuf Pathan, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Mahesh Rawat, 8 Shane Warne, 9 Shaun Tait/ Morne Morkel, 10 Siddarth Trivedi, 11 Munaf Patel.

 

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai made three buys in the auction. JP Duminy was snapped up for a whopping $950,000, while Mohammad Ashraful could be a steal for the Twenty20 format at $75,000; in between, fast bowler Kyle Mills, who will help compensate for the missing Shaun Pollock. Zaheer Khan, on current form, is a vital addition to cover up for the South African’s bowling skills. In another swap, Mumbai sold Ashish Nehra and brought in Delhi’s Shikhar Dhawan, a move to compensate for Uthappa’s departure. Dwayne Bravo, a successful replacement player for the team last year, was given a permanent deal. Two other key signings also came before the auction. They are limited-over specialists from the English county circuit, allrounders Graham Napier and Ryan McLaren – a Kolpak player South Africa wanted to get back after their ODI losses in England last year. 

The team has three Sri Lankans in Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando, all of whom are available for the entire tournament. Mumbai were unlucky last time to miss Sachin Tendulkar, who was injured, and Harbhajan Singh – banned for his infamous slap – for the bulk of the tournament. If they manage to get it right, they would perhaps be able to do justice to Mumbai’s tag of domestic giants.

Probable XI: 1 Sanath Jayasuriya, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 & 5 Dwayne Bravo/ Ryan McLaren/ JP Duminy/ Graham Napier, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Yogesh Takawale (wk), 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Lasith Malinga/ Dilhara Fernando/ Kyle Mills.

Complete IPL 2009 Auction Details

The second IPL auction, held in Goa on Friday, has made Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff the highest-paid cricketers. Each fetched bids of US$ 1.55 million in an event that lacked the glamour and sheer drama of last year’s auction but had its moments of surprise. The bidding war for Mashrafe Mortaza, the 25-year-old fast bowler from Bangladesh, stole the show; he eventually went for $600,000 to the Kolkata Knight Riders – 12 times his base price; a close second was Tyron Henderson, a relative unknown but actually the world’s leading wicket-taker in this format, who was snapped up by Rajasthan for $650,000.

Shaun Tait was the first player to go under the hammer with the Rajasthan Royals snapping up the Australian fast bowler for $375,000. Next up was JP Duminy, the South African batsman, who turned out to be one of the star buys at the auction. Most people had predicted Duminy (base price: $300,000) would breach the $1 million barrier and he nearly did. But in buying Duminy for $950,000 the Mumbai Indians effectively ruled themselves out from the bidding for Pietersen and Flintoff, who took home a combined purse of $3.1 million.

When the Bangalore Royal Challengers didn’t even enter the bidding for Flintoff, it was obvious which way the cards were going to fall. The Royals tried to keep pace, but after buying Tait they had only $1.5 million left. The Deccan Chargers showed no interest in Flintoff, and the Chennai Super Kings had their man, even if he ended up costing more than MS Dhoni had at the first auction.

The Royals tried again with Pietersen, but there was only going to be one winner. Vijay Mallya had come with a single-point agenda, and with Mumbai and Chennai out of the running and Deccan once again quiet, he had the talisman he sought for less money than he thought he would have to pay.

What followed was a bit of an anti-climax until Henderson’s name was called. Most of those gathered had never even heard of him. Henderson (base price: $100,000) played for South Africa just once, in a T20 game against India at the Wanderers in December 2006, and his exploits with Middlesex in their shocking pink outfit hadn’t been well documented here.

But the teams clearly knew of his prowess in this form of the game, and the Chargers matched the Royals bid for bid as the price went beyond half a million. By the time the deal was clinched, the Royals had made $200,000 more than they did for Shane Warne last year. Smart business for a 34-year-old? Only time will tell.

But even the collective intake of breath at the Henderson deal was nothing compared with the shock and awe that greeted the bidding war between Kolkata and Kings XI Punjab for Mortaza. Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh’s player of the moment, and his captain, Mohammad Ashraful, hadn’t attracted any bids, but it was soon obvious that something was afoot when the bids went more than three times higher than Mortaza’s reserve price of $50,000.

Kolkata had just one slot to fill; with Umar Gul’s contract suspended and Shoaib Akhtar’s cancelled, they were certainly in the market for a fast bowler. Punjab, who could miss Brett Lee for most of the season, shared their interest though, and there was more than one gaping mouth once the bidding went past $400,000. Bear in mind that far more lauded individuals like Stuart Clark had gone unsold earlier.

The bidding lasted nearly half-an-hour before Punjab threw up their hands. “It makes great sense for Kolkata,” Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, said. “Bangladesh falls under Kolkata’s catchment area as per a new proposal we are discussing on letting franchises stage matches overseas. This could work well for the KKR later,” he said.

The Kings XI had already caused a shock earlier in the morning, by paying $450,000 for Ravi Bopara, whose appearances for England have been fitful at best. Preity Zinta spoke of him being a “great player”, an assessment that Bopara’s mum would no doubt agree with.

The other England players to be picked up at the auction were Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood, who were bought by Delhi Daredevils for US$ 275,000 each. Speaking about the four England players who were bought at the auction, Modi said: “They are big stars and we are looking forward to their participation in the IPL.”

Punjab picked up Jerome Taylor later, after he had been ignored the first time round, leaving the Mumbai Indians to make the last purchase, Ashraful, for $75,000.

If there was a surprise, it was the Chargers’ relative lack of activity, given the dismal season that they had last year. Perhaps, with Andrew Symonds now likely to be involved for the long haul, they expect those already on board to showcase their talent better than they did in the opening season.

Modi spoke gleefully later of how his brainchild had proved to be recession-proof, but we’ll know the truth of that once the ad slots start being sold for the telecasts. Flintoff, Pietersen and Duminy are undoubtedly exciting additions, while there are bound to be a few glum faces in Australian dressing rooms.

Of the 17 players up for auction [Michael Clarke and Shane Harwood pulled out], only Tait and Tasmania’s George Bailey earned deals.

The auction also threw up some shocks as international players such as Ramnaresh Sarwan, Stuart Clark, Brad Haddin, Shakib Al Hasan and Samit Patel remained unsold.

Interesting IPL Auctions : Flintoff and Peterson are Costliest players

Bangloe gets Peterson for $1.55 mn and Chennai Super Kings get Flintoff for $1.55 mn . Thus Flintoff and Peterson are the costliest players in IPL right now. 

Duminy was taken by Mumbai for $950 k

while Tait was the first guy to  be taken by Rajasthan Royals for $375 k