IPL auction turns sour for Pak players.

IPL auctions for the third edition are over and the money spent defies the times we are living in. The buzz after the auction however has been more about the players who were not picked up rather than the ones who have made millions.

The fact that none of the Pakistani players were bought has been making headlines ever since the auction ended and quite rightly so one would think. I disagree, simply because the Pakistani players should have seen it coming. I am quite bemused by the reactions that have poured in from across the border claiming some sort of conspiracy between Government of India and IPL management. In my honest assessment, the exercise was entirely business in every sense and no franchise wanted to risk large sums on players without being certain about their availability. Now to give this an emotional twist and claim conspiracy is surprising to say the least.

I am sure the Pakistanis had a good idea about how our relations have been and also the stand that Government of India has taken since 26/11. I think the money on offer was big enough for them to take a risk by appearing for this auction and to miss the big ticket IPL yet again would have been disappointing. That disappointment has sadly turned into an agitation of sorts with most Pak players coming out strongly against the way they were dealt with. I am however convinced that some of them would have made the cut if business made sense but it did not and quite rightly so.

The real newsmakers of the auction were the players who made millions. Speculative figures suggest that a guy named Pollard was bought at close to $2.5 million and that’s an astronomical amount for someone as little known as he is. I have not seen much of Pollard except the one innings in Champions League and therefore it’s really hard for me to even speculate the kind of impact that he will have for Mumbai Indians.

Apart from Pollard, Kiwi quickie Bond surprisingly raised a lot of money for a man with his physical fragility. What remains to be seen now is the number of overs his back or knee would allow him to justify a tag of more than a million dollars.

South African left arm pacer- Wayne Parnell- for me was the biggest surprise. He has hardly played for South Africa but was picked up for a lot by Delhi Daredevils. I was quite bewildered about Parnell being picked by Delhi with Nannes, Nehra and Sangwan - all left arm pacers- already in their ranks. Bond could have suited them better.

One last thing of note is the silent tie breaker and the fact that some of the final figures have gone undisclosed. I am not entirely convinced either by the idea of a silent tie-breaker or the non-disclosure of final figures by IPL management. I am sure it would be a good idea to know the cost of a player to better derive the ROI at the end of the tournament.

Read my older post for minute by minute details of how the auction unfolded.
http://expresssport.blogspot.com/2010/01/ipl-2010-auction.html