Modern Slavery : Deccan get Christian for $900,000, Jayasuriya unsold

IPL commissioner Chirayu Amin  (AP Photo)

(January 09, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Australian all-rounder Dan Christian became the first big buy of the day as he was bought by Deccan Chargers for $900,000 after most of the players found no takers including Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacob Oram on Sunday.

India pacers Munaf Patel and Vinay Kumar light up the action as Mumbai Indians spent $700,000 for Patel and Kumar went to Kochi for $475,000.

Delhi Daredevils bought Ashok Dinda and Ajit Agarkar for $375,000 and $210,000 respectively.

Second day of auction resumed on sore note as most of the players found no takers including Jayasuriya, Oram and Bopara after franchisees spend astronomical sums on Saturday.

Delhi Daredevils bought Mathew Wade for $100,000 as the cricketer became the first to be sold on Sunday.

A splurge and purge mentality restored the IPLs feel good factor on a thrilling first day of player auctions, with some of India's rising stars gleefully cashing in as demand for them went through the roof.

With franchisees looking to revamp and renew their stocks, some astronomical sums were tossed around on new faces. The litigation-hit events past few months of turmoil were forgotten.

Owners traded egos and bank balances in a dramatic, often-surprising and always eventful bidding game, churning out new heroes, mostly home-grown, and discarding some big names along the way.

India opener Gautam Gambhir was the undisputed new star as a cat-and-mouse game saw Kolkata Knight Riders emerge with the highest bid of the day, a new IPL high of $2.4m. KKR continued the spending spree with the second-highest bid of the day, a whopping $2.1m on the swashbuckling Yusuf Pathan and another $1.1m on South Africas Jacques Kallis!

Teams had a maximum of $9m to spend on, and in an indication of the sound financial health of the league, 15 new millionaires emerged out of the 88 auctioned players on Saturday.

There was heartache for fans of the older generation of cricketers too, as some greats of the modern game like Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara were ruthlessly discarded and found no takers.

Youth, specifically Indian youth, was the buzzword. Robin Uthappa was snapped up by new entrants Sahara Pune Warriors for another $2.1 million. Rohit Sharma completed the line-up, with Mumbai Indians willing to cough up $2 million for one of India's most talented young batsmen. The fresh-faced Dhoni look alike Saurabh Tiwary hit the jackpot, picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a cool $1.6m.

Yusuf's younger brother Irfan, out in the cold and out of the World Cup probables, didn't do too badly either, pocketing $1.9m as his new team, Delhi Daredevils, went flat out for him.