IPL auction action: Dhoni goes for Rs 6 cr, Andrew Symonds is second most-expensive

In a day that saw Rs 160 crore being spent to ‘buy’ 86 cricketers, leading names in the game knew their worth in rupee/dollar terms. Mahendra Singh Dhoni proved to be the most expensive cricketer, going for a whopping Rs 6 crore. He was snapped up by the Chennai Superkings. Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds got the second highest bid of Rs 5.4 crore from the Hyderabad team.

In a day that saw Rs 160 crore being spent to ‘buy’ 86 cricketers, leading names in the game knew their worth in rupee/dollar terms. Mahendra Singh Dhoni proved to be the most expensive cricketer, going for a whopping Rs 6 crore. He was snapped up by the Chennai Superkings during the first round of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions that began in Mumbai on February 20.

Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds got the second highest bid of Rs 5.4 crore from the Hyderabad team. He is joined by Adam Gilchrist, who was bought for Rs 2.8 crore ($700,000), Herschelle Gibbs ($575,000) and Shahid Afridi ($675,000).

Dhoni would be joined by Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who was bought for Rs 2.4 crore, Matthew Hayden ($375,000), Jacob Oram ($675,000), Stephen Fleming ($350,000).

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne was bought by Jaipur Franchisee for Rs 1.8 crore ($450,000). He was joined by Graeme Smith ($475,000) and Younis Khan ($225,000).

Shoaib Akhtar was bought by Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata team for Rs 1.82 crore ($455,000). SRK’s Kolkata team also snapped up promising youngster Ishant Sharma for Rs 3.8 crore. All-rounder Irfan Pathan was snapped by Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia’s Mohali/Chandigarh team for $925,000. Joining him in the team would be Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene Rs 1.9 crore ($475,000), Ricky Ponting ($400,000), Brendon McCullum ($700,000), Chris Gayle ($800,000), Kumar Sangakkara ($700,000), Brett Lee ($900,000), and Sreesanth ($625,000).

Anil Kumble went to the Bangalore Franchisee for a cool Rs 2 crore ($500,000), along with Jacques Kallis ($900,000), and Zaheer Khan ($450,000).

Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya will ply his trade for the Mumbai team. The bid for Jayasuriya was for Rs 3.9 crore ($975,000). He is joined by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh Rs 3.4 crore ($850,000).

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori went to the Delhi Team for $625,000, along with pace-bowler Mohammed Asif for $650,000.