The IPL auctions held in Bangalore last week was quite a remarkable one. The unprecedented demand for young Indian players and the fact that an uncapped Indian player Pawan Negi emerged as the second highest buy for a record 8.5 crore has come in for criticism by some experts.
The fact that Pawan Negi has yet to play an international match for Team India and yet gone in for such a big price has stumped a former India player. “I simply fail to understand the logic behind this big spending for a player who is yet to debut for Team India. If Pawan had debuted for Team India then I would still have been logical to pay his such a big amount,” said a cricketer.
Even the logic of Pawan Negi being getting a nod into Team India for the World T 20 championships did not make the logic for his expensive buy. Said a IPL regular player, ‘’There is no denying the fact that he (Pawan) has been included in the World T 20 side. But even this move does not justify him being snapped up by the Daredevils for such a huge amount,” said the player.
Another cricketer also questioned the Delhi franchises’ decision to go in for Pawan ignoring the more reputed players. “I just cannot fathom as to how a new kid on the block is deemed to be of more value to a team than an international cricketer who has proved his credential. I think the whole concept of the IPL buying defies logic,” he added.
One fails to understand how a player like Pawan could garner such a rich purse when the likes of more established players T 20 players like Shikar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina went for a much lesser price. But then the IPL is known has a reputation for not ascribing to any set rules.
A cricketer went to say that the IPL is replete with many instances wherein the franchises have shopped in a big way for untested youngsters. Look at the examples of Tamil Nadu M Ashwin (4.5 crores) Karun Nair (4 cr), Deepak Hooda (4.2 cr). These three youngsters are fairly young and look at the prices they have all gone for. So I think there is something special about the IPL and the virtually inexplicable demand for young and untested players,” said the cricketer.
It is interesting to note that the likes of M Ashwin, Karun Nair and Deepak Hooda were sold for a higher price than the likes of big and established stars. For instance Ishant Sharma went for 3.8 cr while Kevin Pietersen (3.5 cr) and Dwayne Smith (2.3 cr) fetched a far lesser price than the trio. “Yes I think its only in the IPL that such a thing can happen I cannot recollect any other tournament where one finds that the international experience and reputation of players does not matter during the auctions,” said a cricketer.