Auction 2010 Surprises

The IPL Auction 2010 went mostly along expected lines. Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach and Shane Bond, who were widely tipped to be the most sought after players before the auction, certainly turned out to be hot property on the day. Pollard and Bond were decided by means of the silent tie-breaker and went to Mumbai and Kolkata respectively, while Roach was lapped up by the reigning champions Deccan Chargers.

Amidst all the headline-makers, the signing up of two cricketers – Wayne Parnell and Damien Martyn - came as a surprise to many. Parnell, the left-arm quick from South Africa, established a reputation for himself in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009, when he picked up nine wickets in six matches. Someone who can bowl at good speeds consistently, can get the ball to nip around and use the left-armer's angle to his advantage, Parnell has been a very successful limited overs bowler for South Africa and for the Warriors. While he is primarily a bowler, his batting has improved several notches too in recent times and he can certainly make handy contributions lower down the order.

While there is no doubt about Parnell’s talent, one was surprised to see him command the price he was eventually signed up for by the Delhi Daredevils. Parnell, who had a base price of $200,000 was bid for by the Daredevils and the Deccan Chargers. After fierce bidding which crossed the $600,000 mark, the Deccan Chargers backed out, leaving the Daredevils to shell out $610,000 for the South African quick. For someone who has only been around the international cricket scene for over a year now, the price that the Daredevils paid for Parnell left many in awe.

The signing up of Damien Martyn too came as a surprise to many. The 38-year old has not played any competitive cricket – of any format - since 2006, and it was a bit of a shock that he was drafted in by the Rajasthan Royals for the 20-over format. Perhaps captain Shane Warne, who had tipped team owner Shilpa Shetty to sign up Martyn, knows something that is not known to the world. Martyn’s record in Twenty20 cricket isn’t all that bad though; in five official Twenty20 matches so far, he has scored 156 runs at an average of 31.20 and at a strike rate of 167.74.