MUMBAI: ?Sony Six, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel will exclusively broadcastthe player auction that will take place before this year’s edition of the Pepsi Indian Premier League. Come February 12thand 13th, the 2014 Pepsi IPL Player Auction will be the talking point of the country as the bidding process rolls out for theseventh edition of the tournament. The event that will see eight team owners battle it out to build their dream team, will be broadcast Live and Exclusive on Six and Six HD.
With every team given the option of retaining a maximum of 5 players, this year’s auction is certain to bring up surprises, with the 8 franchise teams drafting new approaches to retain the best mix of cricketing talent. This year’s auction will feature 219 capped players (169 Indians and 50 overseas players) and will also feature 292 uncapped players (255 Indians and 37 Overseas). Indian uncapped players will be figuring in the auction for the very first time. The auction will take place at ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru, on the 12th of February, with an option to carry onto the 13th of February.
The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who hasbeen conducting the player auctions since the inaugural season in 2008, and will be hosted on Six by Gaurav Kapoor and Ajay Jadeja sharing their insights on player and team strategies.
Some of the top players valued at the auction include Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Kevin Pietersen, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, MahelaJayawardene, and Marlon Samuels.
Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “This year’s auction is probably one of the biggest that we’ll see, as all teams will look for a major revamp. Six will bring an in-depth perspective into the strategy each team has chartered for the league, keeping the audience enthralled throughout the event.”
The Pepsi IPL is a Twenty20 cricket league in India consisting of 8 teams. Teams will play in a round robin format where each team plays each other twice, home and away. The top 4 teams with maximum points at the end of the round robin format, qualify for the play offs. This is the 7th season of the Indian Premier League. Mumbai Indians were the winners of the previous edition in 2013.
