KPL auction fails to spark interest

With many teams apparently unhappy with the auction process, enthusiasm was visibly low on Thursday and the franchises attended the auction with specific players on their mind, leaving 34 players non-auctioned.

All the 43 players named for auction had been released by their respective franchises, though they had another year left with the team as per the contract signed before the first edition of KPL.

Bangalore Cricketers’ C K Akshay, released by Bijapur Bulls, attracted a Rs 45,000 bid, highest for the day, from Belagavi Panthers. “Akshay is a utility all-rounder, who can bat well down the order and chip in with accurate off-spin and that prompted us to go for him warding off stiff competition from Mysore Maharajas,” a Panthers’ official said.
The second highest bid was for S K Moinuddin, previously owned by Mangalore United, who was bought by Malnad Gladitaors for Rs 40,000. DC Rajesh, released by Mangalore United, fetched a Rs 30,000 bid from Shamanur Davengere Diamonds.

Apart from these three bids that witnessed moments of competition, there was scant interest in other names, underlining the general lack of enthusiasm among the franchises.

Many of the team owners had expressed their desire to have a window for player transfer, initiated by mutual talks. In fact, the Karnataka State Cricket Association had earlier decided to have such a window for when the second edition was launched a month ago. However, KSCA Secretary Brijesh Patel justified the move to go ahead with the auction.

“In the scenario of more than two franchises being interested to buy a player, then auction is the best choice, by which we can also avoid a lot of confusion and conflicts,” Patel said.

The former India batsman also added that players, who had not been bidded for at the auction but still had another year in their agreement, will be paid their contract price for two years by the franchises. “All the players who were named for auction today were contracted for two years with their respective franchises and they will be paid their full contract prices for two years as compensation for getting released before their actual contractual period,” Patel said.

The lone exception is David Johnson as his franchise, Panthers, decided to declare his contract null and void after a series of disciplinary issues. Panthers apparently were upset with Johnson attending a few functions of Bijapur Bulls when he was still in the roles of the former. With KSCA too approving the step taken by Panthers’ management, Johnson was not made a part of the auction.

“He violated the contract laid out for him despite repeated warnings and that left us with no choice but to take the extreme step,” a top official of the Panthers said after the auction.

KPL second edition starts on September 16 with a match between last year’s finalists Panthers and Malnad Gladiators at the Chinnaswamy stadium.

List of auctioned players (Previous team in bracket): CK Akshay (Bijapur Bulls), Belagavi Panthers: Rs 45,000; SK Moinuddin (Mangalore United), Malnad Gladiators: Rs 40,000; DC Rajesh (Mangalore United), Davangere Diamonds: Rs 30,000; KV Bharath (Mangalore United), Malnad Gladiators: Rs 10,000; Syed Nooruddin (Davangere Diamonds), Bijapur Bulls: Rs 10,000; Rajashekhar Shanbal (Malnad Gladiators), Bijapur Bulls: Rs 10,000; B Rajashekhar (Mysore Maharajas), Bijapur Bulls: Rs 10,000; S Vinod (Bangalore Brigadiers), Belagavi Panthers: Rs 10,000; Abhishek Jagan (Bijapur Bulls), Bangalore Provident: Rs 10,000.