Auction replay: Of sons & fathers
The first player to go up for auction on Day Two was Anirudha Srikkanth, son of former India opener Kris Srikkanth.
The second day of the IPL 7 auction made for some father-son moments. In fact, that was how the day started off. The first player to go up for auction on Day Two was Anirudha Srikkanth, son of former India opener and national selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth. Srikkanth senior was, in his capacity as the mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad, was in a rather unique position to bid for the services of his son. Initially, silence greeted the announcement of Anirudha’s name, but almost sheepishly, Sunrisers made a bid for the Tamil Nadu batsman.
Eventually, Anirudha would go to the Deccan outfit for his base price of Rs. 20 lakh. That, though, was not the last of such filial dealings. Udit Patel, son of Brijesh who is the CEO of Royal Challengers Bangalore, was up for grabs. The Karnataka all-rounder has a less than stellar record at Ranji level and had his base price set at Rs 10 lakh. The low price did not convince any franchise, including Bangalore, to go for him. Interestingly, one of the franchises had suggested his name be included in the list of players who would go under the hammer again. Even on second count, Udit did not find any takers.
Gone today, there tomorrow
One of the surprise absentees on the list of big buck international cricketers of Day One was Ross Taylor. The Kiwi batsman is in the middle of a sensational run at the international level. His scores from the ODI leg of the current India series read 55, 57, 17, 112* and 102. So when he went unpicked on Day One, especially with the likes of Corey Anderson going for big money (Rs 4.5 crore), it was a bit of a surprise. However, it seemed that Delhi Daredevils were paying it by the ear. Taylor, who had earlier played for Delhi in the 2012 season before shifting to Pune Warriors, was up again on the auction list on Thursday, and this time, most teams were already at the end of their budget and couldn’t really bid much, considering they had other slots to fill. Delhi calmly moved in and claimed Taylor at his base price for Rs 2 crore. Better things, after all, come to those who wait.
Analyse this
The auctions do not represent perfect economic conditions, in the sense that the value of a player, whose services are bid for, may not really match the amount that has been paid for him, or vice verca. After all, the bid amount represents how much a franchise want a player and how far they are willing to go for him. T&T’s Kevon Cooper, a proven talent at the T20 level, went for Rs 30 lakh to Rajasthan Royals. This buy is either a steal, or, there seems to be a premium placed on young Indian cricketers, who are essentially unproved at the international level. Baroda born Deepak Hooda, 18, for instance, went to Cooper’s franchise Rajasthan for Rs 40 lakh. Another member of the Indian under-19 side, Kuldeep Yadav went for Rs 40 lakh too, to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Share
