Published 11:40 IST, December 19th 2019
IPL Auction 2020: Ex-auctioneer Richard Madley reveals biggest past auction controversies
Richard Madley was the IPL's auctioneer for a whole decade. On the day of the IPL Auction 2020, Madley looks back at his journey. Read further for details.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
All eight Indian Premier League (IPL) teams are getting ready to participate in the IPL Auction 2020 on Thursday. Some big names are going under the hammer today and in typical IPL fashion, it is very probable that an unknown youngster may take home a seven-figure contact today. Ahead of the auction, a leading Indian media daily on Wednesday interviewed the original IPL auctioneer, Richard Madley.
Richard Madley spills the beans on the IPL Auction
Richard Madley became the nation's auctioneer every year when he took to the stage and sold the biggest cricket players in the world. In 2018, Madley was controversially relieved of his duties and had expressed disappointment over the same. In the interview, Madley recently spoke about his IPL journey and the plans that he has in place.
Madley looked back at his time in the IPL with fondness and reminisced on the opportunity of being associated with the IPL since its inception. He shared a few details about the inception of the IPL and how the entire journey has been enriching. Madley also revealed that he did not understand the extent of the IPL's glamour initially as he had no clue about the relevance of the celebrities who were involved in the competition as owners.
When asked about the most controversial moment he has had during an auction, Madley looked back at two bids. He revealed that both those bids included the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who clashed with the Kings XI Punjab and the Kolkata Knight Riders. Madley prided himself on handling these moments well and emphasised that his value as an auctioneer was tested in these tough moments. He also expressed great enthusiasm on asked about returning to being an IPL auctioneer in the future and urged the BCCI to let the fans decide the auctioneer for the 2021 mega auction.
Updated 12:45 IST, December 19th 2019