INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE BIDS START ROLLING!

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE BIDS START ROLLING!
To see the second ‘Classic Moments From The Memory pitch’ article see my previous blog post today.

The big news today is regarding the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The bids for the registered players are in and the cash flow has said enough. This tournament has a huge financial attraction and the hype is just starting.
On the Australian front, thirteen of our guys were ‘sold’ in the auction’s bidding and the grand total is a staggering $ 7,392,000!
That’s right, 7 million Australian dollars!
Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds was the highest bid as he went for A$1.47 million to Hyderabadad!

This information is how the rest of our Aussie guys, current & past players, stood in the bids:
The franchise they will be representing is stated next to their name

Andrew Symonds (Hyderabad) $1.47 million
Brett Lee (Mohali) $982,000
Adam Gilchrist (Hyderabad) $765,00
David Hussey (Kolkata) $740,000
Cameron White (Bangalore) $546,000
Shane Warne (Jaipur) $492,000
Ricky Ponting (Kolkata) $436,000
Matthew Hayden (Chennai) $409,000
Nathan Bracken (Bangalore) $354,000
Glenn McGrath (Delhi) $381,000
Michael Hussey (Chennai) $381,000
Simon Katich (Mohali) $218,000
Justin Langer (Jaipur) $218,000

Will be interesting to see what the final figures are and the team roundups!

For those of you who maybe aren’t to clear on the IPL I will give you a quick fill in:
The IPL is an Indian Twenty20 competition that will run from April 2008 till June 2008. It will feature 8 franchises featuring some of the greatest cricketers, retired and current! The players have been bid upon by each of the Franchisees to see who will outbid who and where each player will end representing.

The tournament was not recognised by the ICC (International Cricket Council) who is the governing body of all cricket events.
This tournament is seen as a ‘rebel’ tournament and many players have been threatened by their cricketing bodies should they take part in such and event. However, not getting into all the negative speculation I find this to be an attractive product.

For the players it is clearly financially VERY attractive and a chance for many of them to play alongside their cricketing heroes.
They have 44-day accomodation and in a cricketing mad nation the hype that will surround them will be a unique experience within their careers. The stakes will be high and quality Twenty20 performances will be the focus to live up to their proposed standards!

For the fans it will be so exciting so see Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Justin Langer in action and this is another new feature of cricket we can look forward to seeing.
For the game of cricket it will increase interest and awareness into the game, the financial aspect will monitored by many and if this tournament ends with a high the players who are presently representing their country will become the spotlight to many who watched the tournament and may find their careers followed with enthusiasm! It is very good for cricket. Many may say the financial bidding is not apart of the game but one can’t deny that this is going to prove to be one of the biggest cricketing events in a very long time! The entertainment value may be at a peak we have yet to have seen!

For some more information regarding Australia’s role in it see the news page of www.cricket.com.au (Cricket Australia) or visit the IPL official website at www.indianpremierleague.com

When I gain more knowledge on the tournament and most importantly our Aussie players roles within I will keep you all informed.