IPL 2018 Auction: 5 memorable incidents in auction history

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Saurav Ganguly sunk to an all-time low as he went unsold in the 2011 auctions

From the very first season, the IPL auctions have gathered a lot of attention. Every year, cricket pundits and fans get together and have a go at predicting the outcome of various players in the auctions.

Year after year, pundits and fans and sometimes even players themselves are left startled. There have been enough cases of familiar superstars going unsold and lesser known players hitting the jackpot.

The auctions do not fail to disappoint with it's continuous drama in the form of hard-fought battles. It isn't short of controversy either as cases have arisen wherein franchisees have decided to place a bid just as the gavel goes down in favour of another team.

Let's take a look at some of the most memorable incidents across the ten-year history of the IPL auctions:

#5 Sourav Ganguly goes unsold in the 2011 auction

In the 2011 auction, reputation counted for little as a lot of cricket's veterans found no takers. Sourav Ganguly, a.k.a. 'Dada', doubled his base price to USD 400,000 prior to the auction, a decision that in hindsight he would come to regret.

However, the decision wasn't entirely unwarranted as he was coming in to the auction at the back of an impressive 2010 IPL season, where he added 493 runs to his name. However, the first three seasons of the IPL showcased how youngsters have more of a 'T20 mentality' than the ODI and test-cricket playing veterans.

Franchisees clearly reflected this thought in the 2011 auction as many other veterans such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Mark Boucher and Graeme Swann went unsold.

There could have been other factors behind Dada not getting a single bid. The Knight Riders didn't prosper under Ganguly's captaincy as they failed to qualify for the playoffs in all three seasons. Also, though Dada could accumulate runs, the strike rate at which he would do so was unsatisfactory.

All this being said, at the end of the day Saurav Ganguly was one of the biggest brands in Indian cricket then and it was shocking not seeing a single bid being made for him, especially from his home team, the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Ganguly is among the most famous personalities in Kolkata and his angry fans staged multiple protests in the Bengal capital following the 2011 auction. Luckily for him, Ganguly was signed by the Pune Warriors post the auctions, where he played for another two seasons before retiring.

#4 It's Harpreet, not Harmeet!

What's in a name? Ask Harpreet Singh!
What's in a name? Ask Harpreet Singh!

After a fine performance in the 2017 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Harpreet Singh would have been rest assured that he would get picked by an IPL side in the auctions. His hopes were sadly shattered owing to a major blunder by a news agency.

Another Indian cricketer by the name of Harmeet Singh (note the difference!) had been arrested and subsequently granted bail for driving his car straight into Andheri railway station. The news agency erroneously named an unfortunate Harpreet Singh instead of Harmeet. This coincidentally happened right before the IPL auctions, which saw Harpreet go unsold.

The Madhya Pradesh batsman was clearly unhappy with the way his fate unfolded through no fault of his. Luckily for him, Harpreet's form didn't go unnoticed and he got the contract that he deserved as the Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him as a replacement for the injured Sarfaraz Khan.

#3 Chris Gayle finds no takers in the 2011 auction

Big Bash League - Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Renegades
After going unsold in the 2011 auction, Gayle made his comeback with a mission.

In hindsight, this is one of the most memorable moments in IPL auction history. Despite not living up to his high expectations in the first three editions of the IPL, it was still unwarranted for the big man to go unsold in the 2011 auctions.

It looked like Gayle's short-lived IPL career was over, but the world works in mysterious ways. As fate would have it, when Royal Challengers Bangalore's pacer Dirk Nannes picked up an injury, they decided to call upon Gayle as a replacement. This 'replacement' turned out to be the most destructive force in IPL history. It was a story written in the stars!

Gayle went on to dominate the next few seasons by hitting sixes and centuries at will. When teams look back at the 2011 auction, they'd wonder how different their fate could have been had they sneaked in a bid for the big West Indian!

#2 Royal Challengers bidding for Yuvraj Singh after releasing him

Australia v India - Game 3
Yuvraj Singh was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 14 crore in the 2014 auction

The Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to part ways with the 2011 WC player of the tournament, and use the INR 14 crores more wisely in the 2015 auctions. It was a smart decision, as the veteran southpaw would in all likeliness go for a much lower price owing to him being out of the Indian team for quite some time.

This would allow the Royal Challengers to pick him up at a price lower than INR 14 crores, and also pick up some other players with the money saved. However, Yuvraj surprisingly triggered a bidding war which saw four teams vying for his services.

The most shocking moment, which is etched in the minds of most Royal Challengers Bangalore fans, was when the Bangalore representatives bid INR 14.5 crores for him - more than the amount they had let go of him for!

Yuvraj went on to finally become the most expensive player in the history of the IPL as he was sold to the Delhi Daredevils for a mammoth INR 16 crores. He again failed to live up to his name and price tag in the 2015 season. How mad would Bangalore fans have been if he had rejoined their squad for a dearer price, and then again put in a sub-par performance?

#1 The battle for Kieron Pollard

Mumbai Indians v Highveld Lions - 2010 Champions League Twenty20
Four franchisees emptied their purse in order to secure Pollard's services

The 2010 player auction was a low-key one where only eleven players were finally sold. All eyes were on the brilliant West Indian all-rounder, Kieron Pollard.

All teams had a total purse of just USD 750,000. Kieron Pollard had a base price of USD 200,000, which in no time flew up to the maximum possible bid of USD 750,000 by the Chennai Super Kings. Other franchisees were given an option to match the bid, and three teams obliged. The Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Kolkata Knight Riders were the other three teams desperate to sign the services of one of T20's best at the time.

What followed was an unconventional silent tie-breaker bid wherein each of these four franchisees had to secretly submit their bid for Pollard and the highest bid would win. The Mumbai Indians pipped the other three teams to capture Pollard's services and in hindsight, this was a defining moment in their history.

Pollard has been instrumental in helping the Mumbai Indians win their three IPL titles. How much the winning bid for Pollard amounted to is something that we will never know, as only Lalit Modi and the successful bidders would be privy to that information.

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Edited by Anuradha Santhanam