The newly opened Trident at the Bandra-Kurla Complex played host to the third round of player auctions for the Indian Premier League.
The mood was buoyant and, as in the past, had its share of glamour. Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders was not present which could have disappointed his fans.
However, Bollywood's presence was made up with Preity Zinta, the co-owner of King's XI Punjab, and Shilpa Shetty, who is part of the Rajasthan Royals stakeholders. Mr Vijay Mallya, United Breweries Chief and owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore, was present as also Ms Nita Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians.
The eight franchisees were given a fresh purse of $750,000 each to select one or two players from among the 51 for auction. This was in sharp contrast to IPL 2 where each had $2 million to pick up two players. All in all, estimates are that over Rs 150 crore was spent on the deals.
West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and New Zealand's Shane Bond bagged the highest bids when they hit the upper limit of $750,000.
Sources say Mumbai Indians bought Pollard for $2.75 million while Kolkata Knight Riders got Bond into their team for $1.3 million. Both players will pocket $750,000 each, with the rest going to the IPL kitty. A tie-breaker was used twice during the auction for Pollard and Bond.
Kemar Roach, another West Indian player, was secured by Deccan Chargers Hyderabad for $720,000 while South African Wayne Parnel was snapped up by Delhi Daredevils for $610,000. Mohammed Kaif, who formerly played for Rajasthan Royals, went to Kings XI Punjab for $250,000 in the second round of bidding.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Eoin Morgan of England for $220,000 while veteran Australian cricketer Damien Martyn was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for his base price of $100,000. South African Yousuf Abdullah and Australian Adam Voges were bought by Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals for their base price of $50,000 each.
Shilpa Shetty justified her decision to opt for Damien Martyn saying that the team was going by captain Shane Warne's direction. "We were constantly on the phone," she said.
Similarly, Ms Nita Ambani, who picked Kieron Pollard for an undisclosed amount, said, "It was a strategic decision between Sachin (Tendulkar, the captain), Sekhar and Robin".
The fairly big pool of players coupled with fewer slots to fill up gave franchisees the opportunity to spend cautiously.
Preity Zinta's Kings XI Punjab spent $300,000 while Mr Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers shelled out $220,000.
Shilpa Shetty's Rajasthan Royals spent just $150,000. India Cement-owned Chennai Super Kings ended up being the least spender, putting in just $100,000.
The big question now is whether the franchisees succeed in cashing in on the IPL frenzy with a good number of sponsorships.
"We have pretty much finished with the sponsorships. We are happy," said Mr Sean Morris, CEO, Rajasthan Royals.
No takers for Pak players
Team owners did not bid for Pakistan's cricketers since there was a lot of uncertainty on their availability.
The mood was buoyant and, as in the past, had its share of glamour. Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders was not present which could have disappointed his fans.
However, Bollywood's presence was made up with Preity Zinta, the co-owner of King's XI Punjab, and Shilpa Shetty, who is part of the Rajasthan Royals stakeholders. Mr Vijay Mallya, United Breweries Chief and owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore, was present as also Ms Nita Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians.
The eight franchisees were given a fresh purse of $750,000 each to select one or two players from among the 51 for auction. This was in sharp contrast to IPL 2 where each had $2 million to pick up two players. All in all, estimates are that over Rs 150 crore was spent on the deals.
West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and New Zealand's Shane Bond bagged the highest bids when they hit the upper limit of $750,000.
Sources say Mumbai Indians bought Pollard for $2.75 million while Kolkata Knight Riders got Bond into their team for $1.3 million. Both players will pocket $750,000 each, with the rest going to the IPL kitty. A tie-breaker was used twice during the auction for Pollard and Bond.
Kemar Roach, another West Indian player, was secured by Deccan Chargers Hyderabad for $720,000 while South African Wayne Parnel was snapped up by Delhi Daredevils for $610,000. Mohammed Kaif, who formerly played for Rajasthan Royals, went to Kings XI Punjab for $250,000 in the second round of bidding.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Eoin Morgan of England for $220,000 while veteran Australian cricketer Damien Martyn was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for his base price of $100,000. South African Yousuf Abdullah and Australian Adam Voges were bought by Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals for their base price of $50,000 each.
Shilpa Shetty justified her decision to opt for Damien Martyn saying that the team was going by captain Shane Warne's direction. "We were constantly on the phone," she said.
Similarly, Ms Nita Ambani, who picked Kieron Pollard for an undisclosed amount, said, "It was a strategic decision between Sachin (Tendulkar, the captain), Sekhar and Robin".
The fairly big pool of players coupled with fewer slots to fill up gave franchisees the opportunity to spend cautiously.
Preity Zinta's Kings XI Punjab spent $300,000 while Mr Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers shelled out $220,000.
Shilpa Shetty's Rajasthan Royals spent just $150,000. India Cement-owned Chennai Super Kings ended up being the least spender, putting in just $100,000.
The big question now is whether the franchisees succeed in cashing in on the IPL frenzy with a good number of sponsorships.
"We have pretty much finished with the sponsorships. We are happy," said Mr Sean Morris, CEO, Rajasthan Royals.
No takers for Pak players
Team owners did not bid for Pakistan's cricketers since there was a lot of uncertainty on their availability.
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