Jadeja is cosliest player at IPL auction (From Asian Image)

Jadeja is cosliest player at IPL auction

1:33pm Saturday 4th February 2012 in Sport

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the costliest player in today's Indian Premier League player auction as the Chennai Super Kings paid more than 2million US dollars to outbid the Deccan Chargers for his services.

Jadeja, who starred for the now defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala last season, attracted fierce bidding with both Chennai and Deccan offering the maximum amount, forcing a tie-breaker which Chennai won with an undisclosed bid.

Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene was sold to the Delhi Daredevils for 1.4million US dollars and India's Vinay Kumar also fetched seven figures as he was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for 1million US dollars.

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum went to the Kolkata Knight Riders for 900,000US dollars, but the biggest surprise was the sale of West Indian spinner Sunil Narine to Kolkata for 700,000US dollars.

The 23-year-old, who had a reserve price of just 50,000US dollars, has only one ODI cap to his name, having never played international Test or T20 cricket, But he starred in the 2011 Champions League, taking 10 wickets at an average of 10.50, and his form clearly made him the hot property in today's auction.

England's cricketers may have scaled the heights of Test cricket in the last year but they have clearly not impressed in T20 as the likes of James Anderson, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Ian Bell, and Ravi Bopara were all passed up by teams.

Also among those unsold were VVS Laxman, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Darren Bravo, The IPL begins on April 4.