Jadeja, Jayawardene strike big at IPL auction

MUMBAI: Top players from expelled Kochi Tuskers Kerala dominated the proceedings at the IPL players auction on Saturday in Bangalore.

Ravindra Jadeja, who has time and again proved his worth as allrounder, was the most sought after player with Chennai Super Kings eventually buying the youngster following a tie-breaker with Deccan Chargers. Jadeja had a base price of $100,000.

Both the franchises had bid $2 million before the tie-breaker was enforced to decide who will get the player. In the tie-breaker, both teams enter the bid amount in a secret ballot following which the team with highest bid gets the player. The final amount Jadeja got was not disclosed.

Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was secured by Delhi Daredevils for $1.4 million on a base price of $300,000. Swashbuckling New Zealand batsmen Brendon McCullum was bought by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders for $900,000.

Both Jayawardene and McCullum were part of KTK for season four of the tournament.

R Vinay Kumar, another KTK players, too went back to his previous franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore after the team team bid $1 million to secure his services.

RP Singh and S Sreesanth were bought by Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals for $600,000 and $400,000 respectively. While Singh $400,000 went for more than his base price, Sreesanth was sold for his base price.

Indian players who remained unsold were middle-order veteran VVS Laxman and Punjab medium pacer VRV Singh.

Three South African players found their way into the IPL teams. Herschelle Gibbs went to Mumbai Indians for $50,000, while spinner Robin Pietersen and pace bowler Marchant de Lange were taken by Mumbai Indians and KKR respectively.

Marchant who had made a sensational test debut for SA landed his first IPL contract.

Australia?s Bard Hodge was bought by Rajasthan Royals for $475,000, while Mitchell Johnson went for Mumbai Indians for his base price of $300,000. Australian spinner Brad Hogg went to Royals and his compatriot James Faulkner was snapped up by Kings XI Punjab.

Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel will don Deccan Chargers jersey, while spinner Ramesh Pawar will be back to his previous franchise Kings XI Punjab.

Spin sensation Muttiah Muralitharan will now play for Royal Challengers Bangalore after being bought by them for $220,000. His compatriot Thisara Perera struck big with Mumbai Indians finally managing to have him for $650,000.

West Indies players were also in demand at the auction as several of them managed an IPL contract. Spinner Sunil Narine was bought by KKR, keeper Dinesh Chandimal went to Royals, all-rounder Andre Russell was grabbed by the Delhi Daredevils and pacer Kevon Cooper was snapped up by Mumbai Indians.

In all, 25 players from across the world were bought by the franchises, with MI and RR bidding successfully for five players each. DD, KKR, KXIP and DC snapped up three players each while RCB took two.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood became the only player from that country to play in IPL 2012 after Kings XI Punjab bought him for $200,000.

CSK used their entire purse of $2 million in their successful bid for Jadeja.