Auction replay: from a beaming Dhoni to a grumbling Munaf

Ishant Sharma was surfing Facebook when bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and other team mates gate-crashed his room and asked him to check the bidding on the net. Ishant got a pleasant surprise when he became the second-highest bid Indian player — and it fascinated the 19-year-old to hear how much he was worth.

“I had not planned for anything like this. I am numb right now. I didn’t imagine that I could demand such a price. I can understand Dhoni getting the money, but I never expected so much. I thought I was going to play for Delhi but I think it’s okay if I turn out for Kolkata,” he said.

Team India’s eyes were on the Internet and their ears were on the phone, not wanting to miss any of the action. There had never been through something like this, and the big money increased the excitement. The entire evening went in hotel-room huddles.

Harbhajan Singh was woken up to be told how much he was worth, and he instantly made an estimate of how much each of his deliveries would cost: approximately one-and-a-half lakh per ball!

Virender Sehwag, the icon for Delhi, had his eye on the wishlist and though he didn’t get any of the must-have players, the Indian opener was satisfied with the squad. “I’m happy with the team. Personally, too, I’m happy with the price I will get as an icon player.”

The big surprise was the second wicketkeeper in the Indian squad—Dinesh Kaarthick, who will play for Delhi. Though most players aren’t talking about it openly, they are surprised with the Rs 2.1 crore Kaarthick got. “I’m very happy, I got to know my price through my parents on the phone and it felt really good,” he said.

Manoj Tiwary said he knew there were a couple of franchises in the hunt for him. “I knew I could get a good price but I never expected so much,” he said after raking in Rs 2.7 crore. This was much more than I thought. The fact that I’ve got more money than Daniel Vettori and Asif is a good feeling.”

Gautam Gambhir was happy to remain with Delhi and to become the highest-bid player in the team. “We have been up all night and I have been getting calls from home and friends who are virtually giving me minute-by minute details of everything. It’s definitely very exciting,” he says.

As the final list took shape, there were some surprises that certain players got more money than others in the squad. Robin Uthappa (Rs 3.2 crore, Mumbai ) and Rohit Sharma’s (Rs 3 crore, Hyderabad) price-tags surprised many in the camp.

Munaf Patel, meanwhile, didn’t have much of a smile since he was the lowest in the Team India squad. He grumbled how bowlers had little role to play in Twenty20. “Never mind, at least someone bid,” he said. At 2 a.m., the discussions were still going on.