England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff joined the Indian Premier League on Friday as its most expensive players after being auctioned for 1.55 million dollars each. Pietersen was bought by liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers at a televised auction in this popular holiday resort, while Flintoff went for the same price to Chennai Super Kings.
Both players broke the existing record of India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was purchased by the Chennai franchise for 1.50 million dollars last year. Pietersen and Flintoff will, however, receive only half their money as England players are available for just the first three weeks of the lucrative six-week Twenty20 tournament.
Tournament rules stipulate that payments are made on a pro-rata basis for matches played. This year's contracts are for a two-year period. "A player like Kevin is a great buy for us," said a beaming Mallya, whose team finished seventh out of eight teams in the inaugural edition of the tournament last year. Indian cricket board secretary N. Srinivasan, who owns the Chennai Super Kings, said he was delighted to have all-rounder Flintoff on board.
As many as 50 players threw their hat in the ring for the 17 slots available to franchises, but the unlucky ones could still make the grade at a later date to replace the absent Pakistan cricketers. Young South African Jean-Paul Duminy confirmed his rising stature in the sport when Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians, owned by industrialist Mukesh Ambani, bought him for 950,000 dollars.
Rajasthan Royals, partly owned by Bollywood actress and British reality TV star Shilpa Shetty, created a stir when they picked up ageing South African Tyron Henderson for a whopping 650,000 dollars. All-rounder Henderson, 34, has played just one international match - a Twenty20 game against India in 2006 - but has turned out consistent performances for his English county Middlesex.
Bangladesh seamer Mashrafe Mortaza, whose base price was 50,000 dollars, went to Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders for 600,000 dollars despite a strong challenge from Kings XI Punjab. No Indian player featured in the auction since they were already snapped up last year. The second edition of the tournament, featuring the eight teams owned by tycoons, film stars and leading business houses, will be played across India in April-May.