Mumbai Indians who have been big spenders in the past remained low profile on the first day of the Indian Premier League 7 auction in Bangalore yesterday
Mumbai Indians who have been big spenders in the past remained low profile on the first day of the Indian Premier League 7 auction in Bangalore yesterday.
Although the defending champions managed to net New Zealand’s sensational all-rounder Corey Anderson, letting go of match-winners like paceman Mitchell Johnson and all-rounder Dwayne Smith could cost them dearly. The other four buys by Mumbai Indians on Day One were Michael Hussey, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan and Josh Hazelwood.
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MI’s co-owner Nita Ambani arrives for the auction in Bangalore yesterday
Virender Sehwag was the first player MI went for when the auction got underway, but gave up once Kings XI Punjab offered Rs 3.2 crore for the explosive opener.
Hussey was MI’s first buy of the day when they bid Rs 5 crore for him having started at the base price of Rs 2 crore. The defending champions later made a successful bid of Rs 2.6 crore for veteran India and Mumbai pacer Zaheer Khan.
To everyone’s surprise, MI didn’t use the ‘Right to Match’ option and refused to retain Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson who was also instrumental in their IPL and CLT20 triumph in 2013. Kings XI Punjab bid Rs 6.5 crore for the Aussies pace bowler. MI also refused the ‘Right to Match’ option for West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Smith. After little discussion, MI finally used the ‘Right to Match’ option and retained Pragyan Ojha after Delhi Daredevils bid Rs 3.25 crore for the left-arm spinner.
No luck with Glenn
MI tried hard to retain last season’s most expensive player Glenn Maxwell, who played just five matches for the defending champions. But Kings XI had the last laugh and the Aussie all-rounder was sold for Rs 6 crore. MI later got Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood for Rs 50 lakhs. As the day progressed, MI went for the man-in-form, Corey Anderson, who holds the record for the fastest century in one-day internationals. Sunrisers Hyderabad bid Rs 4.25 crore for him but Mumbai eventually outbid them and settled for a price of Rs 4.5 crore.
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