Youngistaan' rules: India’s GenY players sell like hot cakes in IPL auction

They differed in approach but not in philosophy. The buzz word was young legs — youth. From Chennai Super Kings to Team Kochi and from Mumbai Indians to Sahara Pune Warriors, everyone was after young Indian players. Experience mattered little to them.

“It was an obvious thing to do. We were looking at players who should be good enough for at least three more years,” one owner said, explaining why a Sourav Ganguly or a Brian Lara were not bid for. “Do you think they will be able to lift the bat after three years?”

That explains why no team was interested in Ganguly, Lara. Despite his match-winning abilities, Andrew Symonds could not match the price of his previous auction because he is not getting younger. Dravid went for $ 500,000 and Laxman was lucky to have been sold for his base price of $400,000. The exception, perhaps, was Adam Gilchrist, who surprisingly attracted a big price of $ 900,000.

One former captain of a franchise said the owners tend to invest more on young Indians than on specialists from outside. “Batting in T20 is no big deal. Even a club cricketer can hit a quick 20 that could turn the match. So the owners concentrate on specialists like Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers, Muttiah Muralitharan, Cameron White, Mahela Jayawardene.”

The teams were not too attracted by players from England, although names like Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood Eoin Morgan. Franchise sources say they are not too sure if of the England players’ participation although Chirayu Amin, the chairman of the IPL Governing Council, has said that the England and Wales Cricket Board has given permission for its players to take part in the league.

There were 16 unsold players, most of who were either Englishmen or ageing stars. The players who were not picked were Sourav Ganguly ($400,000), Chris Gayle ($400,000), Jesse Ryder ($100,000), Herschelle Gibbs ($200,000), Brian Lara ($400,000), Graham Manou ($50,000), Matt Prior ($200,000), Mark Boucher ($200,000), Luke Wright ($400,000), Dilhara Fernando ($100,000), James Anderson ($400,000), Graeme Swann ($400,000), Ajantha Mendis ($200,000), Murali Kartik ($200,000), Chamara Kapugedera ($100,000) and Tamim Iqbal ($100,000).

Another important trend this time was that the owners had come to the auction fully prepared. They knew what they wanted. And most of them were not running after the stars if he was not of any usefulness. “We would have picked up Brian Lara if he was an Indian,” said B Vanchi, a co-owner of the Delhi Daredevils.

Royal Challengers Bangalore, for instance, was previously known to go for big names but this time Vijay Mallya was relentlessly pragmatic.

There were no ego battles for a player. Even Team Kochi, the new entrant, had done its homework and by the end of the first day, they had full team at their disposal.