Dhoni fetches $1.5m in IPL auction

Mumbai: Indian skipper Mahendra Dhoni attracted the highest price of US$1.5 million (Dh5.5 million) in the first round of bidding for the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket competition.

Dhoni was bought by the Chennai team for the first three years of the IPL, a city focused team featuring eight teams.

Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist attracted a bid of US$700,000 (Dh2.57 million) from Hyderabad, while Sri Lanka's ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan went to Chennai for US$600,000 (Dh2.2 million).

These players were among the six 'A' list cricketers or 'marquee players' who were pegged as the biggest draw and started the bidding session at a seafront Mumbai hotel.

TOP IPL BIDS:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India - Chennai, $1.5 million
Andrew Symonds, Australia - Hyderabad, $1.35 million
Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka - Mumbai, $975, 000
Brett Lee, Australia - Mohali, $900,000
Jacques Kallis, South Africa - Bangalore $900,000
Harbhajan Singh, India - Mumbai, $850,000
Chris Gayle, West Indies - Calcutta, $800,000
Adam Gilchrist, Australia - Hyderabad, $700,000
Brendon McCullum, New Zealand - Calcutta, $700,000
Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka - Mohali, $700,000

Cricket isn't the only sport where players are paid Ridiculous amounts of money to play. Hockey for example is another sport where players are paid very well to play for teams, however unlike cricket, hockey players have a salary cap restricting the amount they are paid. This too should be implemented in cricket.
Gerard
Brandon, Manitoba,Canada
Posted: February 21, 2008, 10:25

cricket is a lazy game, not all the players are involved in the game all the time. Tens of thousands or more people waste a whole day watching the game. Stop promoting cricket.
Jishi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 21, 2008, 09:27

For those readers and the general public who are bickering over the extravagance, it's high time they stopped cribbing. If the cricketers benefit from such ventures, they deserve it. Being a successful sportsman takes years and years of hard work and dedication, and their career lifespan is also limited. Let them earn their bread and butter (and champagne and caviar) and let all the non-sportsmen endeavor to make their own mark in life rather than pass ridiculous opinions regarding how much the cricketers make.
Sachin
Ajman,UAE
Posted: February 21, 2008, 08:04

It's a really great idea which is following the English premier league and will generate a lot of money, create employment and develop the states of India and which will be commercial profit to media and lot of investors can be invited to invest money on those teams of diffrent states and which is every thing can be done like English premier leagues for soccer in UK.
Chandra
Edison, New Jersey,USA
Posted: February 21, 2008, 05:15

i dont understand the logic/rationale behind Sanath Jayasuriya selling for $975,000 and Shahid Afridi (Man of the Tournament - T20 World Cup) selling for $675,000...can some one explain? (Afridi is almost a decade younger as well...)
Jarret
Rio,Brazil
Posted: February 21, 2008, 01:56

Even a layman can give statements like your scholar, Mr. S.V. After a hard days work, we qualified and struggling professionals would like to see some entertainment. So theres no real harm in whats goin on in the cricket world. Theres no gain without pain obviously, even for cricketers, and we all have to accept that some individuals are more luckier than others. So stop being jealous.
Keith
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 21, 2008, 00:24

Why do you want to think about the less-fortunate and try and connect it with the auction? What sense does it make?Are players, movie actors, athletes, etc, all worth everything they do?
Rizwan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 20, 2008, 17:56

It's the demand that dictates the price.
Owais
London,UK
Posted: February 20, 2008, 17:53

Such form of cricket is good for spectators and the players because it gives entertainment and money.But the real cricket will soon be out of picture. Test cricket will become history.
Moiz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 20, 2008, 17:31

It's not good for cricket.
Rajkumar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 20, 2008, 17:29

Think about those people who also lives in this world and dont have money to buy even food for a day.
Afaq
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 20, 2008, 16:02

I was astonished to see this bid's results.Qualified and experienced personnel are struggling to compete with all to earn their day to day bread where as these people have become billionaires overnight.A great scholar Barnard Shah said that cricket is a foolish game where 11 fools play and it is watched by 11,000 fools. His saying was perfect and one has to think over it as many are starving in the world without proper drinking water and food.
S.V
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: February 20, 2008, 15:59