South African Tyron Henderson stunned by his $650,000 IPL sale

When you are Shane Warne's number one choice and attract a bid four times higher than your own valuation, then you have a lot to live up to.

Last Updated: 4:42PM GMT 06 Feb 2009

In demand: Tyron Henderson, the 'Blacksmith', could not believe it when the Rajasthan Royals secured his services for $650,000 Photo: AFP/Gett Images

For Tyron Henderson that is what awaits after the IPL auction in Goa vindicated his decision not to retire at the end of last season to run a bar in his native South Africa. Instead the Rajasthan Royals have paid $650,000 (£445,200) for him.

"I was watching it on the internet and couldn't believe it as the price kept going up," Henderson said from his home in South Africa.

"It is a total surprise as I thought I might be lucky to get a $150,000 deal. I think Shaun Udal at Middlesex might have put a word in for me with Warney. I owe him a beer."

Rajasthan, the winners of the inaugural IPL, have built their team on stats rather than reputation and Henderson's record speaks for itself.

Known as "the Blacksmith" he has by his own admission one tactic at the crease – "If it's there I hit it," he said. His muscular presence at the crease brought match-winning innings for Middlesex in the semi-final and final of last year Twenty20 Cup.

His bowling isn't bad either. He is the highest ever wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket with 74 wickets in 62 matches at an average of 21.

Such a record sparked the interest of the Deccan Chargers, whose bids inflated Henderson's salary beyond the $475,000 Rajasthan paid last year for Warne and Graeme Smith, two of the world's great players.

IPL auction: Deal or no deal for England stars

Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are both expected to command top dollar at the IPL auction. Telegraph Sport highlights which England players will prove a smash hit and which will fail to attract interest...

Last Updated: 11:24AM GMT 05 Feb 2009

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In demand: Kevin Pietersen should break the record bid Photo: GETTY IMAGES

All-rounder: Andrew Flintoff has already drawn big interest Photo: PA

Multi-skilled: Paul Collingwood is an ideal Twenty20 player Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Asian roots: Owais Shah could prove a popular pick Photo: PA

All-action: Luke Wright can score quick runs and bowl Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Good deal: Ravi Bopara could be a bargain buy Photo: GETY IMAGES

Kevin Pietersen - $1.35 million
The headline act. Pietersen's valuation is expected to reach around the $2m mark, making him the world's richest player. Bangalore are the favourites to sign Pietersen but Rajasthan Royals, the IPL champions, are flush with money, while Mumbai may be tempted to team Pietersen with Tendulkar. If he joins Bangalore, expect plenty of TV commercials featuring KP and Vijay Mallya, the team owner and India's most high profile businessman.
Deal or no deal: Big bucks for KP.

Andrew Flintoff - $950,000
One franchise official was quoted in the Indian media as vowing to do "whatever it takes" to win the Flintoff auction. With at least three franchises identifying Flintoff as their main target, a bidding war could spiral his value to the max.
Deal or no deal: Expect India to be gripped by Freddie mania

Paul Collingwood - $250,000
Collingwood represents a smart pick and with a base price of $250,000 he would offer value for money for franchises concerned about their bank balance. Collingwood's celebrity status is about as high as a pint of Newcie Brown, but franchises have learned from the mistakes of last year when reputations equalled dollar signs but not necessarily performances on the field.
Deal or no deal: Colly and lots of lolly has a certain ring.

Owais Shah - $150,000
Kolkata are thought to be interested in Shah, particularly as Ricky Ponting is unlikely to be available for the majority of the IPL due to Australia commitments. Shah is expected to fetch more than his $150,000 base valuation.
Deal or no deal: Hopes are high in the Shah household.

Luke Wright - $150,000
The star of the first IPL was Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, and the pair do share similarities. Wright's powerful presence at the crease, as well as his age (23), make him an attractive proposition for teams looking to unearth a bargain. Wright's medium-pace death bowling adds to his value.
Deal or no deal: Outside chance of contract.

Ravi Bopara - $150,000
Bopara is a talented all-round cricketer and with such a low base price ($150,000) he is likely to attract interest. His Asian roots will also help, particularly with Pakistani cricketers barred by their government from appearing in this year's IPL. Bopara's Twenty20 record is excellent (strike rate: 121), and this year there is evidence the franchises have done their homework.
Deal or no deal: Disappointment seemingly looms.

Kevin Pietersen to become the world's richest cricketer as IPL bids start at $1.3m

Kevin Pietersen is set to become the world's highest-paid cricketer next week when he is sold at the Indian Premier League auction with a reserve price of $1.3million (£915,000).

Last Updated: 12:12AM GMT 29 Jan 2009

Prize asset: Kevin Pietersen is expected to beat the record price set by MS Dhoni Photo: PA

Telegraph Sport can reveal that Pietersen has been valued at the highest ever fee by the IPL and will almost certainly smash the record of $1.5million paid last year by Chennai Super Kings for India captain MS Dhoni.

Andrew Flintoff has been valued at $900,000 at the auction when the IPL futures of 13 other contracted England players will be decided. The auction on Feb 6 clashes with England's first Test against the West Indies and the tour management will have to ensure the players remained focussed on the match at Sabina Park.

That will not be easy with salaries bandied around beyond the dreams of many cricketers.

Flintoff and Pietersen's advisers will have noted last year's auction during which Dhoni cashed in on a bidding war which saw his base price of $400,000 rocket.

Both Pietersen and Flintoff have been courted by almost all of the eight IPL franchises and competition for their signature will be fierce despite their limited availability this year. "Pietersen can name his own price," said one franchise owner recently.

England's centrally contracted players will be available for only 21 days of the IPL and will be paid on a pro-rata basis. That could still represent a minimum of $86,000 per match for Pietersen who could cram six appearances into three weeks.

Pietersen and Flintoff will also benefit from the dollar's current strength against the pound and their IPL salaries will also be swelled by the hugely lucrative marketing and endorsement opportunities afforded to India's leading cricketers.

The Bangalore Royal Challengers, owned by the flamboyant billionaire Vijay Mallya, met with Pietersen last year and remain the favourites to sign him while Flintoff has been linked with joining Sachin Tendulkar at the Mumbai Indians.

The base prices for the remaining England players will be decided today although none is likely to be valued higher than $250,000.

Dominic Cork and Sajid Mahmood were among other English cricketers to be added to the auction list sent yesterday to the franchise owners. Ed Joyce, the Sussex batsman, has also been listed as has Darren Gough, Rob Key and Essex's James Foster.

The eight franchises will be able to spend $16million between them and the auction list is expected to contain 50 players. Middlesex' South African Twenty20 specialist Tyron Henderson is also hoping to pick up a deal.

IPL auction bidding war to land Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff

The England team are somewhat used to being treated as assets, thanks to their involvement with Sir Allen Stanford, but for a lucky few, Friday will be their time to cash in.

Last Updated: 11:13AM GMT 05 Feb 2009

Hot property: Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff will go for top dollar Photo: PA

Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are the leading English names at the Indian Premier League auction.

The Fort Aguada hotel, on a peninsular of the North Goan coast, is already besieged by television crews and Indian media anticipating what is quickly becoming cricket's annual publicity stunt - the IPL auction.

At 10am Goan time (4.30am GMT) seven England players will become numbered lots. Pietersen, somewhat fittingly, is expected to be named as A1.

The 43 players listed for sale will be auctioned off in batches with Lalit Modi, the IPL figurehead, announcing to the media, during lulls in the bidding, who has bought whom.

The whole show is expected to last up to three hours during which time $16 million will be spent on around 21 players. Recession. What recession?

Pietersen and Flintoff are the names dominating the Indian newspapers. Both could reach the maximum price of $2m and the IPL governing council was today meeting to decide what will happen if two franchises bid the same amount.

The Bangalore Royal Challengers are owned by the Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya. His portfolio includes the Formula One team, Force India, so he is well versed in how money talks in sport.

Mallya wants Pietersen and is thought to be willing to splurge his entire purse on him. It may come to that.

A rival has emerged over the past 24 hours with the Rajasthan Royals, the IPL champions, also linked with a Pietersen bid. They have money to spend thanks to the recent $14m investment by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

Linking up with Shane Warne, the captain and coach of the Royals, would appeal to Pietersen, although sharing a dressing room with Graeme Smith may not.

For Flintoff, his $950,000 base valuation could double. All eight franchises have shown an interest at one stage or another, but it is likely only three or four can realistically afford his salary.

A bidding battle between Chennai, Mumbai or Kings XI Punjab is likely to make Flintoff a very happy man when he wakes up in Jamaica tomorrow.

Michael Clarke's decision to pull out on the eve of the auction will increase English hopes of an IPL deal.

Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara will be seen as 'bargain' buys, with base prices set at a maximum of $150,000. Bopara and Shah's Asian roots will not harm their chances, and the fact they will both be available for two thirds of the IPL adds to the attraction.

Delhi enter the auction room looking for a batsman - JP Duminy of South Africa is thought to be their target - while Kolkata have already been linked with Shah.

"It's all-rounders that people really want, whether they can bowl fast or even just offer an alternative with the ball," said one franchise official. "Apart from KP and Shah, all the England players on the auction list offer more than one skill."

A year ago, the franchises were bewitched by big names. Jacques Kallis - great Test player but bum Twenty20 record - was bought for $950,000. The hysteria surrounding the first auction, when 75 players, including the entire India team, were sold - even infected men who have made millions in the brutal world of Indian business.

Rajasthan bucked that trend and bought on T20 reputation. The result was a title winning team. That lesson has been learned and we can expect a more measured approach this year.

Although with one franchise official stating he will "do anything" to land Flintoff's signature, despite his lack of availability, it suggests some names retain a magical allure.

The players left on the shelf tomorrow will not give up hope. The decision by the Pakistan government to ban its players from playing in India has wreaked havoc within some franchise boardrooms. Those not bought will be still be available for purchase on one-year deals as temporary stand-ins.

Tomorrow the IPL announces the arrival of Twenty20 cricket in 2009, and what happens in the Aguada Ballroom will go a long way to indicating if it will be a bumper year.

Kevin Pietersen suited to IPL franchise owner Vijay Mallya's lavish lifestyle

Whether their talent is for making money, dancing, acting or simply being more ruthless than the next man, India's wealthy never lack for attention.

When you add cricket into the mix then the level of hype spirals quicker than the bids in Friday's Indian Premier League auction room.

The owners of the eight IPL franchises were gathered in clusters inside the Fort Aguada Ballroom to wave their flashing red bats whenever they chose to cast a bid.

Wearing a vibrant red shirt, which looked as if it was bought from one of Goa's beach hawkers, was Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore team and one of India's richest men.

Mallya has made his money from his Kingfisher brewery and airline and now has the toys all self respecting billionaire's crave - a Formula One team and India's equivalent of a Premier League football club.

Following the bidding process Mallya is now Kevin Pietersen's latest boss and certainly the most generous employer he will ever have.

Mallya's personal fortune is estimated at $1.2 billion and in 2008 he was ranked as India's seventh richest man.

With a bloodstock farm and a fleet of vintage cars, Mallya knows how to spend his money and the parties he hosts on his yacht, the Indian Empress, are legendary in India. KP should fit right in to the Mallya world.

But Mallya's wealth is dwarfed by that of Mukesh Ambani, the man who pays Sachin Tendulkar's wages at the Mumbai Indians. Ambani represents regal, old Indian money. His family own Reliance Industries, the oil drilling company rated as one of the world's most successful businesses with a turnover in the region of $35.9 billion.

Mukesh was too busy to attend the auction so sent his wife on the ultimate shopping spree instead. Nita Ambani was not shy with her husband's money. A cool $950,000 was spent on South African JP Duminy. Mukesh will not be too upset with Mrs Ambani. He has another $45 billion to fall back on.

Andrew Flintoff made a powerful new friend when he was bought by the Madras Super Kings for $1.55 million. Owned by N Srinivasan, the secretary of the BCCI and cement gazillionaire, Flintoff will be at the heart of a team many see as the best in the IPL. No pressure there then.

But boardroom billionaires are not enough to create a media stir in India. What is needed is a pretty face. That is provided by the IPL's Bollywood babes. Pretty Zinta, the actress, is part owner with her boyfriend in the Kings XI Punjab, the team based in her home city of Chandigarh.

With Yuvraj Singh as captain, Kings XI are the IPL's glamour boys and it is there that Ravi Bopara will spend a month in April. Below the fragile exterior lurks a powerful business mind and Zinta is a vociferous defender of women's rights in India.

She won a national bravery award when she testified against the Mumbai mafia gangs who hold a grip on the Bollywood industry. Cricket really must feel like a hobby.

Her position as the IPL's number one female attraction though has been challenged this week by Shilpa Shetty, a fellow Bollywood actress but better known in Britain as winner of Celebrity Big Brother.

Having been insulted by Jade Goody is perhaps one unusual way of preparing to work with Shane Warne, the captain and coach of the Rajasthan Royals, the team she bought a stake in on Monday.

Shetty was the public face of the Royals today although judging by her answers, she may have to brush up on the career of Tyron Henderson, the Middlesex journeyman her team are about to pay $650,000 a year.

However, Shetty and Zinta are dwarfed in their fame by Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders and the most recognisable face in India.

SRK had a novel way of attracting fans to Eden Gardens last year. He promised before every match to perform a dance. What prevented this show stopping moment was the fact the West Bengal government would slap the team with a hefty entertainment tax if SRK got his dancing shoes out.

He kept his feet shackled but SRK's name alone was enough to earn Kolkata millions of rupees from merchandising and shirt sales. In the end, that is what it's all about.

IPL 2009 auction: The complete lowdown
Friday, 06 February , 2009, 14:07 Last Updated: Friday, 06 February , 2009, 17:33
Name of the player Base price Sold for Team ENGLAND Kevin Pietersen $1.35m $1.55m Royal Challengers Andrew Flintoff $950,000 $1.55m Chennai Super Kings Luke Wright $150,000 No takers Owais Shah $150,000 $275, 000 Delhi Daredevils Paul Collingwood $250,000 $275, 000 Delhi Daredevils Ravi Bopara $150,000 $450. 000 Kings XI Punjab Samit Patel $100,000 No takers SOUTH AFRICA Ashley Prince $ 150,000 No takers Andre Nel $ 100,000 No takers Gulam Bodi $100,000 No takers JP Duminy $300,000 $950,000 Mumbai Indians Morne van Wyk $100,000 No takers Tyron Henderson $100,000 $650, 000 Rajasthan Royals Yusuf Abdullah $25,000 No takers AUSTRALIA Aaron Bird $45,000 No takers Ashley Noffke $100,000 No takers Alden Blizzard $ 75,000 No takers Brett Geeves $45,000 No takers Brad Haddin $ 250,000 No takers Bryce McGain $50,000 No takers Daniel Harris $50,000 No takers Dominic Thornley $50,000 No takers George Bailey $50,000 $50,000 Chennai Super Kings Jon Moss $50,000 No takers Michael Klinger $ 75,000 No takers Michael Dighton $85,000 No takers Michael Hill $50,000 No takers Phil Jaques $100,000 No takers Shane Harwood $75,000 No takers Shaun Tait $250,000 $375,000 Rajasthan Royals Steven Smith $75,000 No takers Stuart Clark $250,000 No takers BANGLADESH Shakib Al Hasan $75,000 No takers Mohammad Ashraful $75,000 No takers Mashrafe Mortaza $50,000 $600,000 Knight Riders Tamim Iqbal $50,000 No takers NEW ZEALAND James Franklin $50,000 No takers Jesse Ryder $100,000 $160, 000 Royal Challengers Kyle Mills $150,000 $150,000 Mumbai Indians SRI LANKA Thilan Thushara $100,000 $140,000 Chennai Super Kings Nuwan Kulasekara $100,000 No takers Kaushalya Weeraratne $50,000 No takers Chamara Kapugedera $150,000 No takers Prasanna Jayawardene $ 50,000 No takers WEST INDIES Darren Powell $150,000 No takers Dwayne Smith $100,000 $100,000 Deccan Chargers Fidel Edwards $150,000 $150,000 Deccan Chargers Kemar Roach $50,000 No takers Kieron Pollard $60,000 No takers Jerome Taylor $150,000 $150,000 Kings XI Punjab Ran Naresh Sarwan $ 100,000 No takers

Second IPL season scores low on glamour quotient

If the first players' auction a year ago was a free for all bout between eight heavy weight franchises, the exercise for the second edition of the Indian Premier League this year was more a battle of wits with the bidders waiting for the right opportunity to score a point.

And the strategy was clear in the first round of auctioning itself when Team Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya could not hide the smile on his face as the other franchises raised their hands for the first three players on offer.

Mallya was only interested in former England skipper Kevin Pietersen from the lot of the four most expensive players that included his compatriot Andrew Flintoff, Australian speedster Shaun Tait and the new South African sensation Jean-Paul Duminy.

"I was in fact cheering the teams who were bidding for the other three players," he said after the first round. "It meant that they were all ready spending their money and we had a distinct advantage when the bidding for Peitersen started."

The auction was also a bit low on the glamour quotient this time around with the likes of Team Kolkata co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and Team Mumbai owner Mukesh Ambani staying away from the Taj Aguada.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who joined the IPL bandwagon last week by buying 11.7 per cent stake in Team Rajastan, kept a low profile during the auction. "I am soaking in the atmosphere here. I am a first timer and this is a huge learning experience for me," she told reporters.

"Our team management is very experienced and have a game plan ready," she added.

The defending champions won the bid for South African medium pacer Tyron Henderson for $650,000 after an intense bidding.

Apart from the bidding, the talking point has been the high security around the hotel. "The security was anyways increased after the terrorist attack in Mumbai. But since so many big people are coming here we have been doing stringent security checks on everyone entering the hotel," said the security guard at the entrance.