Ex-IPL COO discloses real story behind MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli's auction before IPL 2008

The Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament launched in 2008 to a roaring worldwide success. During the auctions that unfolded prior to the inaugural event, the then Indian captain MS Dhoni was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) while his successor Virat Kohli joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Except for the two-year ban on CSK between IPL 2016 and 2017 which forced MS Dhoni to join another franchise, the two cricketers are still very much attached to their original teams.

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Sundar Raman recalls MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli’s selection in IPL 2008

Sundar Raman, who served as IPL’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) from 2008 to 2015, recently made an appearance on Oaktree Sports 22 Yarns With Gaurav Kapur. In the show, he talked about the IPL 2008 auctions and revealed some interesting stories behind the selections of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in their respective franchises. Raman said that certain teams were allotted ‘Icon Players’ in the inaugural season, who were to be paid 15 percent more than their highest-paid player purchased in the auction.

Speaking about how MS Dhoni joined the ‘Yellow Brigade’, the ex-IPL COO stated that since CSK did not have an icon player, they were a “little bit more free” to bid for a cricketer of their choice. The franchise went for the then Indian captain because they did not have to worry about paying an additional 15 percent sum to a player with ‘Icon’ status. Raman later spoke about Virat Kohli’s selection by recalling the Under-19 World Cup event that was held just a month before the auction.

Virat Kohli, who was captain of the Indian Under-19 team at the time, led the ‘Boys in Blue’ to title victory by defeating South Africa in the final. The under-19 players had a separate draft which was conducted a few days after the auction. Kohli, who was born and brought up in Delhi, was ignored by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) because they did not require an additional batsman in their line-up due to the presence of the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shoaib Malik and Shikhar Dhawan. Raman along with Gaurav Kapur discussed the same and cited it as the reason why Kohli ended up with RCB instead.

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IPL 2020: MS Dhoni in CSK

During the IPL 2020 trading and transfer window, MS Dhoni became one of the 20 cricketers to be retained by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The right-handed batsman was retained for ₹15 crore (US$1.9 million) by the franchise for the now-postponed IPL 2020 season. Under Dhoni’s leadership, CSK lifted the coveted IPL trophy in 2010, 2011 and 2018 editions.

IPL 2020: Virat Kohli in RCB

Indian captain Virat Kohli was appointed as RCB’s skipper in 2013 and will continue to do so in the much-awaited edition. During the trading and transfer window, the franchise retained the cricketer for ₹17 crore (US$2.2 million) for the 2020 season. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and India lockdown have postponed the launch of the tournament until further notice. IPL 2020 was originally intended to commence on March 29.

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Image credits: IPLT20.COM