Delhi Daredevils happy with result of IPL-V auction

Delhi Daredevils is pleased to have strengthened its batting by picking up the intended players during the auction for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

Delhi added Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and young all-rounders Andre Russell (West Indies) and Doug Bracewell (New Zealand) to their ranks.

"Going into the auction, we were very clear that we would strengthen our middle-order batting and look for all-rounders. We are happy to have found what we targeted," team mentor T A Sekar said.

He said Jayawardene would be a source of strength for the Delhi Daredevils middle-order.


"There can be no doubt that Mahela will make a difference to the team with his vast experience and his approach. We are delighted that we could add a true blue professional of his stature to our roster," he said.

In 106 Twenty20 matches, Jayawardene has scored 2,631 runs with two centuries and 17 half-centuries at a strike-rate of 136.81. He has also 1,136 runs to his credit in 49 IPL matches so far.

Sekar said that in Russell and Bracewell the Delhi Daredevils found the quality all-rounders it was looking for.

"We wanted players who could bat explosively in the death overs and give the team four effective overs. We believe Andre and Doug are exciting talent and will live up to our expectations," he said.

The 23-year-old Jamaican Russell has played one Test, 14 one-day internationals and five T20 internationals for the West Indies while Bracewell, 21, has played four Tests, three ODIs and two T20 internationals for New Zealand.


"The addition of Kevin Pietersen to the side this season, on transfer from Deccan Chargers, and the recruitment of some exciting Indian talent like Pawan Negi, Manprit Juneja, Kuldeep Raval and Punit Bisht are all steps towards ensuring that Delhi Daredevils goes the distance in the coming IPL season.

"We have high quality fast bowling and efficient spinners and are confident that we have the combination we have been wanting," Sekar said.

The team (as of February 4):

Indian players: Virender Sehwag (captain), Varun Aaron, Ajit Agarkar, Punit Bisht, Robin Bist, Unmukt Chand, Ashoke Dinda, Manprit Juneja, Vikas Mishra, Yogesh Nagar, Prashant Naik, Shahbaz Nadeem, Pawan Negi, Naman Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Venugopal Rao, Kuldeep Raval, Aavishkar Salvi, Tejaswi Yadav and Umesh Yadav.

Overseas players: Travis Birt, Doug Bracewell, Aaron Finch, James Hopes, Colin Ingram, Mahela Jayawardene, Morne Morkel, Kevin Pietersen, Andre Russell, David Warner and Roelof van der Merwe.

PTI

Pune can play five foreigners if all teams agree: BCCI

Some headway seems to have been made in talks between the Indian cricket board and Sahara India to resolve the crisis arising out of the company threatening to pull its team, Pune Warriors, out of the Indian Premier League. 

BCCI is believed to have told Sahara it would not object to Warriors fielding five foreign players if other IPL teams do not have any problems. 

Pune team owner Sahara has been demanding a slight relaxation in the rules to allow it to play a fifth foreign player to help fill the gap created by the absence of ailing star Yuvraj Singh. 

Sources in the board said that Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan is also involved in the discussions and is mediating on behalf of the IPL teams. Sources said Khan volunteered to call a meeting of all IPL teams to discuss the issue further. 

However, sources added that if Warriors is allowed a fifth player, it could open a Pandora's Box, with other teams likely to place similar demands in the future. 

"Shah Rukh is of the opinion that Sahara has a genuine problem (with Yuvi's absence) and so a detailed discussion could help its cause. If all teams are willing, the board doesn't have any problem with it," a top BCCI official told TOI. 

The board appears to be making a concerted effort to resolve the row with Sahara and fielded former president Shashank Manohar, who is now believed to be playing a key role in the negotiations. 

Manohar met the Sahara group head Subrata Roy on Monday and has been speaking with board officials to end the impasse. 

According to BCCI sources, the board is not going back on its decision to allow mediation on Sahara's request for a rebate of 27 per cent on the franchisee fee for Warriors because of the reduced number of matches from the promised 94 to 74. 

Overall, the chances of Warriors playing in this year's IPL appeared bright, board sources said. "Sahara has communicated its willingness to continue with the franchise. I cannot say anything about the Team India sponsorship as yet," a senior BCCI official told TOI.

IPL 5 auction: Chennai Super Kings buy Ravindra Jadeja for whopping $2 million in tie-breaker

Dashing wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum was the first to be auctioned as he was bought for $900,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders followed by the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was clinched by Chennai Super Kings for whopping $2 million in the tie-breaker of IPL 5 auction in Bangalore on Saturday.

Who got whom in IPL players' auction

In Pics: Bidders at IPL players' auction

Former Pakistan player Azhar Mahmood, who now has a British passport, has been sold to Kings XI Punjab for $200,000. He started with a base price of $100,000.

Australia's James Faulkner was also grabbed by Kings XI Punjab for $190,000.

Darren Bravo, who went unsold in the first time, has been bought on his base price by Deccan Chargers for $100,000 while Owais Shah remained unsold in the second time too at a base price of $200,000.

New Zealand all-rounder Doug Bracewell got lucky at the second time after Delhi Daredevils bought him for $50,000.

South African seamer Marchant de Lange, who took a seven-for on Test debut, has been bought for $50,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders.

South Australia batsman Daniel Harris, who had a base price $50,000, sold to Deccan Chargers for $70,000.

Kevon Cooper, the Trinidad & Tobago all-rounder, has been bought by Rajasthan Royals on base price of $50,000. West Indies opener Lendl Simmons couldn't attract any buyer.

Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera, who had a base price of $50,000, was snapped by Mumbai Indians for $650,000.

Sunil Narine was bought for $700,000 by Kolkata Knight Riders while Romesh Powar has been snapped up by Kings XI Punjab for $160000.

Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis went unsold alongwith compatriot Rangana Herath, Graeme Swann, Peter Siddle, Vernon Philander, Xavier Doherty, Mark Boucher, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought seamer R Vinay Kumar, who had a base price $100,000, for $1 million.

Fast bowler RP Singh, who had a base price of $200,000, was bought by Mumbai Indians for $600,000.

Jadeja, who had a base price of $100,000, was bagged in a tie-breaker between Super Kings and Deccan Chargers.

The $2 million budget cap for the auction means Super Kings have spent all their money on a single player and cannot participate in the auction any more.

Delhi Daredevils bought all-rounder Andre Russel, who had a base price of $50,000, for $450,000 while Mitchell Johnson was bought at his base price by the Mumbai Indians for $300,000.

Deccan Chargers bought Parthiv Patel, who had a base price of $200,000, for $650,000 after quite a fight with the other franchises.

Rajasthan Royal bought Bradley Hodge for $475,000. Sri Lankan master batsman Mahela Jayawardene has been bought by Delhi Daredevils for $1.4 million.

Mumbai Indians bought Herschelle Gibbs for $50,000 while Dinesh Chandimal bought by Rajasthan Royals for $50,000. Both the players have been bought on their base prices.

Muttiah Muralitharan was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for $200,000 while England's paceman James Anderson was the first to go unsold in the IPL 5 auction.

Ian Bell, Upul Tharanga, Adrian Barath, Tamim Iqbal and VVS Laxman went unsold at the IPL 5 auction.

The auction got a big twist just hours before the players' auction after Sahara India pulled out from the ownership of IPL franchise Pune Warriors.

Sahara India has been denied replacement for injured Yuvraj Singh for the upcoming fifth edition of Indian Premier League.

"It was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations were not given due consideration at all," Sahara said.

Sahara India also requested BCCI to pass on Pune Warriors team to some other interested party immediately.

The franchises have a maximum of $2 million to spend at the auction as they bid to strengthen their line-ups ahead of the tournament which will be played between April 4 and May 27.

The auction has been conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has conducted each of the previous IPL player auctions.

Yuvraj Singh likely to miss IPL 5

Star batsman Yuvraj Singh is unlikely to play in the fifth edition of Indian Premier League due to treatment of his non-malignant lung tumour and might be out of competitive cricket for about six months. 

According to sources close to the cricketer, Yuvraj is currently in the United States for treatment of his tumour and once it is removed, the recuperation process will start. 

"Yuvraj went to UK and from there has travelled to the United States for an advanced treatment. The oncologists who will be treating him in the US will take a call on whether he would undergo surgery or any other form of treatment. But that's for sure, he won't be playing in the IPL," said a source. 

The fifth edition of the IPL starts on April 4 and Yuvraj who captained Pune Warriors in the last edition may only get fit before the home series against New Zealand. 

"Yuvraj is an asset and no one would want to see him rush his comeback. He (Yuvraj) knows that Indian team still needs his services and won't rush his comeback. The recuperation might take considerable amount of time, may be upto six months. Therefore, ideally one can expect his comeback when New Zealand are in India, in August this year," the source added. 

The lung tumour has kept Yuvraj out of action since he played the second Test match in Kolkata back in November last year.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala Team Banned From IPL 5

Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL team has been terminated due to its term of agreement by BCCI. Now instead of 10, 9 IPL team will participate from April 2012. Kochi Team was unable to pay the annual payment of 156 crore rupees. Although it is not officially declared whether a new team will replace Kochi Tuskers Kerala team or only 9 teams will play in IPL 5 begining from April 4, 2012.