The auction ahead of IPL 7 is up and running and some marquee players have been sold.
The excitement of the IPL 2014 Auction is upon us and already the eight franchises have spent big on some of the biggest players in world cricket.
Here are the most expensive purchases so far ahead of the IPL 7 tournament.
David Warner to Sunrisers Hyderabad – £538,505
The explosive Australian batsman impressed last year with Delhi Daredevils, but it was Hyderabad that made the move this term as they look to improve on their solid first year in IPL in 2013.
Jacques Kallis to Kolkata Knight Riders – £538,505
Despite being 38-years-old the world-class all-rounder is still an attractive prospect to franchises due to the South African’s capabilities with both bat and ball.
Chennai Super Kings originally bagged Kallis, but Kolkata used the new ‘right to match card’ – introduced this year – to retain the services of the veteran.
Glenn Maxwell to Kings XI Punjab – £587,460
Last year’s most expensive player does not earn the same honour in 2014 after playing just three times for Mumbai Indians last time out.
However, the Australian all-rounder still has a cache in twenty20 cricket and Kings XI were moved to pay the fourth biggest price yet for Maxwell.
Mitchell Johnson to Kings XI Punjab – £636,4150
After a Man of the Series performance in the recent 2013/14 Ashes the paceman was always going to be hot property, as Johnson hits form at just the right time for the IPL.
Defending champions Mumbai chose not to retain the Australian however and Kings XI swooped in as a result.
Kevin Pietersen to Delhi Daredevils – £881,190
There was much hype surrounding where the recently sacked England big hitter would go and how much for, with Delhi eventually using their own right to match card to retain the 33-year-old.
The Sunrisers had won the three way bid between themselves, Chennai and Kings XI, before the Daredevils swooped in at the last moment.
Dinesh Karthik to Delhi Daredevils – £1,223,875
Much to everyone’s surprise one of the biggest earners was wicketkeeper-batsman Karthik, who the Daredevils snatched up as they bid to improve on last year’s disappointing campaign.
Yuvraj Singh to Royal Challengers Bangalore – £1,370,740
Yet the biggest purchase and the second player to break the £1m bracket is Indian all-rounder Yuvraj, who missed the 2012 IPL campaign as the 32-year-old battled cancer.
He did return for the now defunct Pune Warriors last term but looked a little rusty, yet RCB still think there’s great potential.
See the full list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2014 Auction here.
