IPL AND CRICKET CRAZY CLUB (SEASON 18) - Page 111

Hot picks for the day were Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond who attracted USD 750,000 each, while there were no takers for Pakistani players.

After two hours of aggressive bidding, the teams have finally bought their stars for the third edition of the Indian Premier League.

Wayne Parnell: Sold to Delhi Daredevils for USD 610,000

Shane  Bond: Sold to Kolkata Knight Rider for USD 750,000

Kemar Roach: Sold to Deccan Chargers for USD 720,000

Eoin Morgan: Sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for USD 220,000

Damien Martyn: Sold to Rajasthan Royal for USD 100,000

Thissara Perera: Sold to Chennai Super Kings for USD 50,000

Mohammad Kaif: Sold to Kings XI Punjab for USD 250,000

Yusuf Abdullah: Sold to Kings XI Punjab for USD 50,000

Justin Kemp: Sold to Chennai Super Kings for USD 100,000

Under-19

Ashok Maneria: Sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 8 lacs

Harmeet Singh: Sold to Deccan Chargers for Rs 8 lacs

Harshat Patel: Sold to Mumbai Indians for 8 lacs

Some key unsold players

Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Brad Haddin (Australia)

Graeme Swann (England)

Shakib Al Hasan  (Bangladesh)

Nuwan Kulasekara (Sri Lanka)

Daren Ganga (West Indies)

Doug Bollinger (Australia)

Sohail Tanvir (Pakistan)

Kamran Akmal (Pakistan)

Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies)

Chamara Silva  (Sri Lanka)

Tim Bresnan (England)

Jonathon Trott (England)

Jason Krejza (Australia)

John van der Wath (South Africa)

Grant Eliott (New Zealand)

Ashley Noffke (Australia)

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Pakistan)

Imran Nazir (Pakistan)

Phillip Hughes (Australia)

Wavell Hinds (West Indies)

Lendl Simmons (West Indies)

Umar Akmal (Pakistan)

Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka)

Rory Kleinveldt (South Africa)

Sulieman Benn (West Indies)

Franchise owners played down the fact that no Pakistani player and only two from Australia were bought in the auction for the third edition of the IPL.

By Rajarshi Gupta in Mumbai

While the Australians had been threatened by Shiv Sena, Pakistan's cricketers were under the scanner too as they were not sure about getting visas.

However, two Bollywood divas, Shilpa Shetty (Rajasthan Royals) and Preity Zinta (Kings XI Punjab) were nonchalant and said not selecting Pakistan and Aussie cricketers had nothing to do with fear.

It was strategy, they said.

Modi, flanked by Shetty and Zinta deflected the tight corner situations to the team owners, who in turn played their role to the last detail.

"I am very happy with our buy. We were in touch with Shane (Warne) constantly and we went by what he told us. I have got all the players I wanted," said Shilpa, who co-owns the Rajasthan team with husband Raj Kundra.

Shilpa reiterated it was all a part of deep-rooted strategy. Not buying Pakistan all-rounder Sohail Tanvir, who was the highest wicket-taker for the Royals in the first edition did not seem too hard on the actress.

Zinta and Kings XI Punjab co-owner also stressed that their decisions were not influenced by threats.

Modi decided to dismiss the matter as elegantly as the heat in the media room allowed him to: "India is a safe country and there is no threat," before gesturing to the next reporter.

Mumbai Indians co-owner Nita Ambani revealed it was a team strategy, that included Sachin Tendulkar's insights to buy Kieron Pollard in Tuesday's auction.

By Rajarshi Gupta in Mumbai

The first round of the auctions was high on drama and unprecedented furious bidding between Mumbai, KKR, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings.

Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, who had a base price of 250,000 USD, remained unsold, surprising many in the media room.

However, given his nationality and the recent troubles between India and Pakistan, no team would have wanted to shell out money and risk on a player, whose availability would have been under the scanner.

Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and England off-spinner Graeme Swann also remained unsold at the end of the first round. Haddin would not have attracted many buyers in any case with Shiv Sena's threat against Aussie cricketers.

Kolkata made a coup with Shane Bond, the Kiwi express, who also went to a tie breaker.

South African pace sensation Wayne Parnell  amassed 610,000 USD to walk into the Delhi Daredevils.

The Mumbai Indians and KKR have now exhausted their purse and will play no more part in the auctions.

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting says the process of parting ways with IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders was "amicable".

He added that the decision will allow him to focus more on regaining the Ashes and retaining the 2011 World Cup, to be held in the sub-continent.

KKR bought out Ponting's contract, a day before the auction for the third edition, considering he will not be available for the whole season.

Ponting, who skipped the entire second edition of the Twenty20 tournament in South Africa, was bought for USD 400,000 by Bolywood star Shah Rukh Khan's co-owned side in 2008.

"It was an amicable process. I wanted to play for the Knight Riders but I was only available for a handful of games.

For the all the right reasons, the Knight Riders are looking for players who will be available for most, if not all, of the tournament in the hope of gaining more consistency after a couple of lean seasons.

"I fully understand and accept the situation. In the end it (agreeing to the buyout) was an easy decision because it leaves me totally focused on the Ashes next summer and the World Cup. There are no distractions," Ponting told The Australian.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who will lead the Kolkata outfit in the T20 tournament, also confirmed that it was an amicable decision as the Australia captain would not have been available for many matches.

"A player like Ricky is irreplaceable. We would not have done that if he was available for the whole league. He can't play for eight to 10 matches. It was a strategic decision taken after consultation with all parties," he said.