They wanted a young and Indian team, says IPL-4 auctioneer

The player auction for IPL Season 4 involving 352 cricketers was perhaps the longest auction well-known English auctioneer Richard Madley has handled in his lifetime. Brief moments of suspense, intrigue and twists marked the two-day affair at the Hotel ITC Gardenia in Bangalore, on January 8-9.

After earning a pat on his back for a job well handled, Madley answered BT's questions in a brief interview. Excerpts.

What is the one big change that you noticed between the first IPL player auctions in 2008 and now?
IPL has come a long way in the last three years. There is very much a re-focus on Indian players. That is also the main trend of IPL 2011.

The first player auction in 2008 was all very new. There was a lot of hype, a lot of egos, and trust invested on the reputation of individual players. But, (as it turned out), IPL is a different type of play.

This time there was very much a refocus on domestic Indian players. They (the franchises) went by the skills and availability of players. And, age was an important factor too. Like Vijay Mallya said, he wanted his team to be young and Indian.

As an Englishman, were you disappointed that few from your country made it to the IPL this time?
Well...I felt slightly disappointed in a number of instances. But I also think although England has just won the Aussies and they are the world 2020 champions, it is not necessarily that there are players who would fit in well into the Indian Premier League. There are not many players (in England) who are geared up and skilful enough to play in the IPL. Their availability was also a case.

Was their price an issue?
I think they had overpriced themselves. A clever player who wants to play in the IPL should fix the base price at a lower figure (like $50,000) and tempt people to buy him. Even if they are picked up at a lower price in the beginning, they can prove themselves in the game, get themselves name and reputation. After that they can quote whatever figure they want.

Some players had raised their base priced to such an extent that they looked expensive. I am sorry for my favourite English players.