Friday, February 6, 2009

Pietersen, Flintoff fetch record prices at IPL


England players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff fetched $1.55 million each at the Indian Premier League auction Friday, setting a record for the highest amount paid for a player in the Twenty20 competition.

Flintoff was snapped up by Chennai Super Kings, which last year set the previous record of 1.5 million for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Bangalore's Royal Challengers secured Pietersen.

Bangalore's owner Vijay Mallya said he was prepared to pay more for Pietersen.

England players were not involved in the auction last year. South African J.P. Duminy was sold for $950,000 to Mumbai Indians, more than three times his reserve price.

Australia paceman Shaun Tait was the first player auctioned, going to defending champions Rajasthan Royals for $375,000. The IPL season begins on April 10.