Social media users have pointed out an apparent mix-up in one of the bids during the IPL 2022 auction, which resulted in Khaleel Ahmed being sold to Delhi Capitals, despite Mumbai Indians technically having offered the exact winning bid.
As the T20 league’s mega auction trudged along through two evenings, a hectic and tiring affair for all those involved, it fought past definite hiccups that came along the way. Hugh Edmeades, the official auctioneer, had a medical emergency while in action, forcing a last-minute replacement in Charu Sharma to take up the role, a job he received widespread praise for.
With a total of 600 players registered in the final list, and 204 eventually going under the hammer, the process had plenty of notable purchases, but eagle-eyed fans also spotted an accidental mix-up in one of the bids: involving out-of-favour India quick Khaleel Ahmed.
Having been with the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the last four years, Khaleel had put his base price at INR 50 lakh, with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals engaging in a tussle that saw them raise his base value more by more than a factor of ten. A total of 36 bids saw his price rise to INR 500 lakh – a price at which Delhi appeared to raise the paddle – to which Mumbai were asked to counter.
With Charu asking Mumbai to counter at 525 lakh, owner Akash Ambani raised his paddle, bringing the offer back to Delhi, with the required bid then at 550 lakh. Delhi co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi was then seen getting into a discussion with his team, and that’s when the confusion began.
Grandhi appeared to tentatively raise his paddle for 550 lakh when he was pulled into a conversation by his teammate at the table, with Grandhi raising his hand as if to disregard the bid. The bid, however, appeared to have been counted as one by the auctioneer, but he announced the price as 525, a number Mumbai had already offered. Even on the monitor, the ‘current bid’ read 550 lakh, but was revised to 525 lakh a few seconds later.
The Mumbai think-tank then got into heavy deliberations, even as the Delhi camp waited to see if the deal would progress. Mumbai didn’t agree to take the deal to 550 lakh, following which Delhi secured the player.
It’s unfair to say if anyone was at fault: given the frenetic nature of bidding and the number of players involved, it did seem like a rare, accidental slip-up. Either which way, Khaleel Ahmed got richer by INR 525 lakh. It’s a price that Mumbai had offered too, but in all the confusion, Delhi took him home.
Here’s the video of the incident doing the rounds on social media:
https://twitter.com/addicric/status/1493204345810161664
https://twitter.com/addicric/status/1493204701881323526
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