Chennai bags Dhoni for $1.5 million for IPL

Dhoni stands on TOP for IPL auction:

It was auction fever at its peak, as the best cricketers from India and beyond were lined up and sold off by the IPL. Franchise owners such as SRK and Mallya vied in the bidding war that finally gave us the line-ups that will compete in the inaugural IPL tournament

Ishant attracts almost a million while Warne gets only one bid; Symonds, Dhoni and Harbhajan are most sought after, along with India’s T20 super-kids

Money flowed like water and millionaires splurged like only they can as frenzied bidding continued unabated for up to eight hours, with India’s World T20 champions raking in the moolah.

Liquor monarch Vijay Mallya and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh ‘King’ Khan, nowadays the most high-profile brand ambassadors of Indian sport, brought with them tons of panache and star value as they unusually arrived at an event taking place before noon.

But it was swiftly clear that Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be the undisputed emperor of the market-driven league, as auctioneer Richard Madley sold him for an astronomical $1.5 million, an unbelievable $1.1 million over his reverse price. Dhoni will have to shift his loyalties down south as the poster boy of Chennai Super Kings.

Three franchisees were neck-and-neck going into the final stretch for Dhoni and two went over the one million mark before the wicketkeeper-batsman was sold. It was a sure indication the ‘Youngistan’ generation would be the most sought after.