IPL owners ignore Anderson, seven other England Ashes heroes
By ANIMonday, January 10, 2011
LONDON - Indian Premier League (IPL) owners have ignored fast bowler James Anderson and seven other Ashes winning England players in the two-day auction for the fourth edition of the event.
Of the eight members of the team that beat Australia in Melbourne in Sydney who put themselves up for auction, only two - Kevin Pietersen (Deccan Chargers) and Paul Collingwood (Rajasthan Royals) - were deemed worthwhile purchases by any of the 10 IPL franchises, The Guardian reports.
Two other members of the Ashes squad, Stuart Broad (Kings XI Punjab) and Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders), were signed up.
But James Anderson, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott, Tim Bresnan and Ian Bell were overlooked, despite their performances in Australia as well as the fringe players Ajmal Shahzad and Monty Panesar.
Collingwood said England players were less attractive in the auction because they are expected to play in at least one first-class fixture before the first Test of the 2011 summer, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on 26 May - meaning they will not be available for the latter stages of the IPL, which will run from 8 April to 22 May.
“That will have affected the bids,” said the Durham veteran, whose 250, 000 dollar deal with the Rajasthan Royals sets up an intriguing combination with his old sparring partner Shane Warne, who is again due to captain the Jaipur-based franchise.
The only other English players signed on the second day of the auction were Hampshire’s Michael Lumb and Dimitri Mascarenhas, who will join Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab respectively. (ANI)
