Batsman Gambhir lands richest $2.4 m IPL paycheque

• Mahela most sought after overseas player as he bags $ 1.5 m
• No takers for Sanath; Gayle and former India and West Indies captains Sourav Ganguly, legendary Brian Lara; Herschelle Gibbs, Mark Boucher and Bopara

BANGALORE (AFP) - India’s Gautam Gambhir hit the early jackpot as he was snapped up for more than $2 million at the Indian Premier League auction on Saturday, smashing the record price paid for an IPL player.

Left-handed opener Gambhir was among four Indians to breach the $2 million barrier at the scandal-plagued tournament’s fourth edition, others being Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma.

Gambhir was the first player to go under the hammer at the two-day auction in Bangalore, bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for $2.4 million, far higher than his base price of $200,000.

He was soon joined in the exclusive bracket by all-rounder Pathan, who was bought by the same franchise for $2.1 million. Pathan’s reserve price was $300,000.

Uthappa went to new franchise Pune Warriors for $2.1 million, while Sharma was bought up by Mumbai Indians for $2 million as Indians emerged the most-sought-after players in the early stages of the auction.

The prices paid to the Indian foursome easily eclipsed the previous record of England duo Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who went for 1.55 million dollars each in 2009.

Pietersen, with a base price of $400,000, was bought by Deccan Chargers for $650,000 this time.

Among the $1 million men were New Zealander Ross Taylor, Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene, South Africans AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, India’s Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan, and Australian Cameron White.

Each of the 10 franchises has a purse of $9 million to spend at the auction.

On Sunday unheralded Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian was bought for an astounding USD 900,000 (RS 4.14 crore apprx) by Deccan Chargers while veteran Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya found no takers on the second day of the auctions.

Hard-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and former India captain Sourav Ganguly remained unsold in early rounds on Thursday. Former West Indies captain Brian Lara and a host of England’s Ashes stars were also among 353 players up for grabs.

Lara and England fast bowler James Anderson were among 21 cricketers with the highest reserve price of $400,000 for a three-year contract.

The annual IPL tournament revolutionised the sport when it burst onto the scene in 2008 with a high-octane blend of international star players, Twenty20 matches and Bollywood glamour.

But its fortunes dipped dramatically last year after allegations of massive corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as well as secret deals to hide teams’ real owners, and even links to India’s criminal underworld.

IPL founder Lalit Modi -- whose brash style personified the event -- was thrown out by the BCCI, the sport’s governing body in India, over accusations about his conduct and organisers hope this year will provide a fresh start.

The tournament, to be held from April 8 to May 22, will feature 10 teams, including two new sides -- Pune Warriors and Kochi.

Twelve players have been retained by their original franchises, with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni staying with the Chennai Super Kings and Shane Warne and Shane Watson sticking with the Rajasthan Royals.

Some top cricketers have opted out of the IPL’s fourth season, including the Australian trio of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson, and former India captain Anil Kumble.

Pakistan’s cricketers continued to miss out on the IPL bonanza after none of them was included for the auction.

Their players participated in the inaugural IPL, but were forced out of the 2009 season due to security concerns following the Mumbai attacks, and were then ignored for the 2010 tournament.

Liqour baron Vijay Mallya, his son Siddharth and Anil Kumble were representing the Royal Challengers Bangalore team while Nita Ambani was at the forefront for Mumbai Indians’ bidding. Bollywood stars Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta were present for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, respectively. Shah Rukh Khan was conspicuous by his absence at the Kolkata Knight Riders huddle.

Auction process shows true value for players, says Lalit Modi

London (IANS) Suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi Saturday was far away from Bangalore where the player’s auction for the fourth edition of the league was underway -- but he was closely following the drama that saw some cricketers fetching record amounts.

‘Great start for IPL Season 4. All teams have bought well. It will be a good season 4,’ tweeted Modi, who left India citing security reasons following his suspension from the Indian cricket board last year.

‘Auction process shows true value for Players. Looks like the Two New Teams will be extremely competitive too. All 10 look good,’ he said, on social networking site Twitter.

Modi feels that the 16 unsold players, including Sourav Ganguly, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle and Herschelle Gibbs, can still hope to get a buyer.