KEY POINTS:
New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum has drawn top dollar as some of cricket's biggest names went under the hammer in Mumbai in a unique auction.
Eight franchises in the new Indian Premier League, the officially-sanctioned Indian competition, due to start next month, are bidding for the cream of
cricket's talent.
Brendon McCullum drew the top dollar, being bought for US$700,000($875,658) by the Kolkatta franchise. Two of his team mates were not far behind.
All rounder Jacob Oram joins Chennai for US$675,000 alongside the top earner out of the acution, Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who fetched US$ 1.5 million.
New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, has gone to the Delhi franchise for US$625,000.
Stephen Fleming was bought by Chennai for his base price of US$350,000.
Scott Styris went for 175,000 to the Hyderabad franchise.
Australian wicket-kpper Adam Gilchrist, tipped to be the first million dollar player, was sold for US$700,000 for Hyderabad while spinning great Shane Warne fetched only US$450,000 put up by Jaipur franchise.
Indian one-day captain Mahendra Dhoni and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds topped the bidding as teams spent big ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL).
Chennai splashed out US$1.5 ($1.90) million for Dhoni while Hyderabad paid US$1.35m for Symonds at a glitzy auction to determine who plays where in the IPL tournament starting in April.
"It is amazing drama," Inderjit Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council, told reporters. "The market is determining the price. That's how a free market economy should flow."
Dhoni was snapped up by the southern metropolis side in the first round of the sale.
Retired Australian spin bowler Shane Warne was the first player to go under the hammer in a five-star Mumbai hotel conference room filled with cricketers, celebrities and tycoons, fetching US$450,000 from Jaipur.
The team will pay the winning bid to the player annually. The contracts are for a three-year period and are guaranteed by the Indian cricket board.
India's multitude private television channels flashed developments by the minute sending the cricket-crazy country into a frenzy.
Indian paceman Ishant Sharma was bought by Kolkata for US$950,000 and his partner Rudra Pratap Singh fetched US$875,000 and was bought by Hyderabad.
Warne's compatriot fast bowler Brett Lee was snapped up by Mohali for US$900,000 while Australia captain Ricky Ponting was bought by Kolkata for US$400,000.
The Mumbai franchise, which has Sachin Tendulkar as the designated city player and is owned by India's most valuable company Reliance Industries, paid US$975,000 for Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya and US$850,000 for India spinner Harbhajan Singh.
The eight franchise teams of the IPL - Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mohali and Mumbai - had a budget of up to US$5 million each for a maximum of eight contracted players.
They bid from a pool of 78 players and the main segment of the closed-door auction lasted for over seven hours.
The 44-day IPL starts on April 18 and will feature 59 matches.
No single event has made global cricket news in this manner since Kerry Packer's circuit did over thirty years ago, but unlike the IPL, the late Australian media magnate's event was a breakaway league.
Some of the country's biggest companies, including spirit company UB Group, have bought franchises. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta have bought into the Kolkata and Mohali franchises, adding further glamour to the league.
Zinta, who accompanied IPL chairman Lalit Modi for one of the media announcements, clapped in glee when Modi announced to reporters that India pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth was bought by Mohali for US$625,000. Mohali also bought India all-rounder Irfan Pathan for US$925,000.
Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who last month retired from test cricket, went to Hyderabad for US$700,000. Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan went to Chennai for US$600,000.
The players were bid in sets of 12 according to their annual base price, multiple-skills and expected availability for the inaugural year.
Retired Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath and Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf were among players who did not find buyers in the main round.
1. Mahendra Dhoni (India) US$1.5m to Chennai
2. Andrew Symonds (Australia) US$1.35m to Hyderabad
3. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) US$975,000 to Mumbai
4. Ishant Sharma (India) US$950,000 to Kolkata
5. Irfan Pathan (India) US$925,000 to Mohali
6. Brett Lee (Australia) US$900,000 to Mohali
6. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) US$900,000 to Bangalore
8. RP Singh (India) US$875,000 to Hyderabad
9. Harbhajan Singh (India) US$850,000 to Mumbai
10. Chris Gayle (West Indies) US$800,000 to Kolkata
10. Robin Uthappa (India) US$800,000 to Mumbai
12. Rohit Sharma (India) US$750,000 to Hyderabad
13. Gautam Gambhir (India) US$725,000 to Delhi
14. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) US$700,000 to Kolkata
14. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) US$700,000 to Mohali
14. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) US$700,000 to Hyderabad
17. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) US$675,000 to Hyderabad
17. Jacob Oram (New Zealand) US$675,000 to Chennai
17. Albie Morkel (South Africa) US$675,000 to Chennai
17. Mohammad Kaif (India) US$675,000 to Jaipur
17. Manoj Tiwary (India) US$675,000 to Delhi
