Pollard and Bond hit the jackpot

Bangalore, Tue, Jan 19 2010 (CricBuzz) - The auction for the third edition of the IPL began with a bang but ended with a whimper. As it progressed, it became clear that the franchisees had come out with specific plans and strategies for what loopholes they wanted to plug.

There was none of the excitement of the inaugural auction, when every player was up for grabs, nor of the auction last year, where Pietersen, Flintoff and Mortaza created headlines.

At this auction, there was only one universal choice - the flamboyant Kieron Pollard, who was bid for by nearly every team. Some of the fast bowlers saw fiercely contested bids, with Shane Bond's bid going the distance, while Kemar Roach and Wayne Parnell were sold for hefty sums. Pollard eventually went to the Mumbai Indians after four teams - Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai - were all tied on the maximum bid of USD 750,000. Mumbai got him via the silent bid method.

After the initial flurry of bids, the rest of the auction was a very drab affair as none of the players seemed to interest the teams much.

The major talking point was the complete lack of interest in the Pakistan players, with none of them receiving a single bid. The Pakistan players had come into the auction with fine pedigree and several franchisees could have been expected to be interested in the likes of Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer. However, with the political equations being so uncertain and with the PCB itself not giving the impression of functioning at a barely-above-chaotic level (hardly a day goes by without some politically connected member demanding the sacking of Ejaz Butt and the team management), the franchisees opted to take the safe route and use their money for players who would be guaranteed to be available.

Chennai, Delhi and Deccan clearly wanted to strengthen their bowling departments and they bid for the high profile faster men fiercely. Parnell was the first to go under the hammer, and Delhi eventually got him for USD 610,000.

Shane Bond was expected to get a big bid, especially considering his retirement from Test cricket, and it was not too surprising that he joined Pollard as the only other player to reach the USD 750,000 barrier, with Kolkata and Deccan being tied for the bid. The beleaguered Knight Riders got a reason to smile before the IPL as they won the silent bid for Bond, thereby strengthening their bowling department considerably.

Kemar Roach went to Deccan who had seen their bids pipped for Parnell and Bond, but not before Chennai and Punjab also made a spirited bid for him. Just when it looked like Roach would join Pollard and Bond in the 750,000 bracket, Deccan won out when no one topped their USD 720,000 bid.

Bangalore made what was possibly the best value-buy of the auction, getting the hard-hitting Eoin Morgan for USD 220,000. With Morgan being able to double up as a wicket-keeper, Bangalore were distinctly lucky not to face a fierce bidding war for him.

Apart from the Pakistan players, some of the others who were expected to fetch good sums but were left high and dry were Australians Brad Haddin and Doug Bollinger, Englishman Graeme Swann and Bangladeshi Shakib al Hasan.

The non-interest in Bollinger was particularly perplexing, given that from among the remaining teams, Chennai at least could have used a canny operator such as Bollinger to bolster their bowling attack.

Shakib al Hasan too could have been a value-buy, but found no takers for the second year in succession.

Mohammad Kaif - who had his contract bought out by Rajasthan - found no takers initially, but his name was re-entered into the auction after the initial rounds when two franchisees showed an interest in him, whereupon he went to Punjab for USD 250,000.

Kaif had been over-priced in the inaugural IPL auction, when Rajasthan bought him for USD 675,000, but at his current price he was a good bet. Moreover, with Rajasthan having bought out his contract, it effectively means that Kaif will get the amount Rajasthan had bought him for plus what Punjab will now pay him, for this year. That works out to a tidy sum of USD 925,000. For someone who has not been given the chances at the national level that most others have had, despite impressive levels of commitment and talent, this is welcome news.

Rajasthan and Chennai - the inaugural IPL finalists - were the only ones who came away relatively empty-handed from the auction. While Rajasthan did not bid for too many players, Chennai were outbid a couple of times.

Rajasthan picked up Damien Martyn and Adam Voges - both for their base price, while Chennai got the hard-hitting pair of Thissara Perera and Justin Kemp, also for their base price.

The auction closed with three of India's Under-19 players going to Bangalore, Deccan and Mumbai. These players were not part of the spending cap of USD 750,000. There were lots drawn for the Under-19 players, and interestingly Punjab chose to pass, instead of picking up one of the promising players. For all the noise that the franchisee owners make about being a part of the IPL because of their love for the game and their desire to see it grow, the decision to not pay a relatively cheap price of INR 800,000 (less than USD 18,000) was a poor one.

How the teams stacked up:

Bangalore: Eoin Morgan (USD 220,000), Ashok Meenaria (U-19, INR 800,000)

Chennai: Thissara Perera (USD 50,000), Justin Kemp (USD 100,000)

Deccan: Kemar Roach (USD 720,000), Harmeet Singh (U-19, INR 800,000)

Delhi: Wayne Parnell (USD 610,000)

Kolkata: Shane Bond (USD 750,000)

Mumbai: Kieron Pollard (USD 750,000), Harshal Patel (U-19, INR 800,000)

Punjab: Mohammad Kaif (USD 250,000), Yusuf Abdulla (USD 50,000)

Rajasthan: Damien Martyn (USD 100,000), Adam Voges (USD 50,000)