Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the most sought-after player in the Indian Premier League after being auctioned for $1.5million.
India skipper one of five players to break million-dollar barrier at IPL auction
India one-day international captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the most sought-after player in the Indian Premier League after he was auctioned for $1.5million, one of five players to break the million-dollar barrier.
The first-round of bidding for players in Mumbai saw Chennai secure Dhoni for the first three years of the Twenty20 IPL competition.
Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was the second-most expensive player as he was purchased by Hyderabad for $1.35m, and three other Indian players have also been valued at over a million dollars as icon players, who will be paid 15% more than the highest-paid player in the franchise.
Legend Sachin Tendulkar crossed the million-dollar barrier as Mumbai's icon player after the franchise splashed out $975,000 for Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya.
Mohali paid $900,000 for Aussie speedster Brett Lee to push their icon Yuvraj Singh over the million-dollar mark, and they later added another big signing with Irfan Pathan joining for $925,000.
Rahul Dravid also broke the million-dollar threshold as a result of Bangalore paying $900,000 for South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
Big money
Other big-money moves saw Harbhajan Singh join Tendulkar and Jayasuriya at Mumbai for $850,000, while Chris Gayle became Calcutta's highest successful bid at $800,000 - pushing their icon Sourav Ganguly's value up to $920,000 in a team containing Ricky Ponting and Shoaib Akhtar.
Retiring Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist was one of three players to go for $700,000 as he joined Hyderabad, while Brendon McCullum joined Calcutta and Kumar Sangakkara went to Mohali.
Hyderabad have some big hitters in their ranks after adding Herschelle Gibbs ($575,000) and Shahid Afridi ($675,000) to play alongside Gilchrist and Symonds, while Jacob Oram ($675,000), Muttiah Muralitharan ($600,000) and Matthew Hayden ($375,000) joined Dhoni at Chennai.
Shane Warne was snapped up for $450,000 by Jaipur where he will be joined by South African captain Graeme Smith and Pakistan duo Younis Khan and Kamral Akmal.
International captains Daniel Vettori and Shoaib Malik joined Mohammad Asif and Dinesh Karthik alongside icon Virender Sehwag at Delhi.
Retired Australian seamer Glenn McGrath, Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf and Aussie batsman Mike Hussey all failed to attract any bidders and will be sent into the reserve pool.
The bidding for the players is done electronically in a sealed room - with eight teams with a $5 million limit vying for the services of 78 of the world's leading players.
IPL Squads
Jaipur: Shane Warne ($450,000), Graeme Smith ($475,000), Younis Khan ($225,000), Kamran Akmal ($150,000), Yusuf Pathan ($475,000)
Chennai MS Dhoni ($1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan ($600,00), Matthew Hayden ($375,000), Jacob Oram ($675,000), Stephen Fleming ($350,000), Parthiv Patel ($325,000), Joginder Sharma ($225,000), Albie Morkel ($675,000)
Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya ($975,000), Harbhajan Singh ($850,000), Shaun Pollock ($550,000)
Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$ 500,000), Jacques Kallis ($900,000), Zaheer Khan ($450,000), Mark Boucher ($450,000), Cameron White ($500,000)
Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist ($700,000), Andrew Symonds ($1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs ($575,000), Shahid Afridi ($675,000), Scott Styris ($175,000)
Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene ($475,000), Kumar Sangakkara ($700,000), Brett Lee ($900,000), Sreesanth ($625,000), Irfan Pathan ($925,000)
Kolkata Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar ($425,000), Ricky Ponting ($400,000), Brendon McCullum ($700,000), Chris Gayle ($800,000), Ajit Agarkar ($330,000)
Delhi Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori ($625,000), Shoaib Malik ($500,000), Mohammad Asif ($650,000), AB de Villiers ($300,000), Dinesh Karthik ($525,000), Farveez Maharoof ($225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan ($250,000)
