DTVHINDIEXCLUSIVE: “Was very aware of Dhoni’s importance in world cricket” – Richard Madley said while remembering the 2008 IPL auction.
Richard Madley. (Source – Getty Images/Wales Online) Richard Madley, who is known as the first person to host an Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, recently discussed many interesting things about his experience of being the auctioneer at the mega event. He hosted the inaugural IPL auction on February 20, 2008, and continued hosting the auction until the 2018 edition. Recently Madley was asked whether he had any prior knowledge about MS Dhoni before entering the auction. The star wicketkeeper-batsman was the most expensive player at the event as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bought him for $1,500,000 (approximately Rs 6 crore) after the bidding started at $400,000 (approximately Rs 1.6 crore). Richard Madley gave a big statement regarding MS Dhoni Madley, in an exclusive chat with CricTracker, said that he was fully aware of Dhoni’s stature in the field of cricket as he was a cricket fan and the Indian captain’s unrealistic demand at the time of that auction did not surprise him. Richard Madley said, “I was very aware of Dhoni’s importance to Indian cricket, world cricket. I am a cricket fan, you know, I follow the game closely. So I knew he was potentially a player who was going to set things up. The first IPL auction, now, of course, it is random (auction set), you don’t know whose name will be the first to come out of that velvet bag that day. The former auctioneer said that, and I think Dhoni was thinking about the number five or six player. I think it was his fourth or fifth name that day and when his name came everyone went ‘aah’. And in those days, we used small cricket balls which were kept in a velvet bag. And on that came a player number, set number, which was his and there was a noise around the room you could tell there was excitement within the room.
12 years ago, Gautam Gambhir was aware of this thing, now he has revealed it.
Gambhir has recently revealed how he felt when he faced Sunil Narayan for the first time. Gautam Gambhir (Photo Source: X/Twitter) Gautam Gambhir has come into the team this year as a boon for Kolkata Knight Riders. Knight Riders have appointed former captain Gambhir as their mentor ahead of the current edition of the IPL. After failing to reach the playoffs last year, bringing former Indian cricketer Gambhir back into the camp was considered a master move by fans as well as experts. This decision is paying off as the Shreyas Iyer-led team is at No. 2 in the IPL points table with four wins and two losses in six matches. Sunil Narine has been one of the star performers for KKR this year. This all-rounder has so far scored 276 runs in six matches and taken seven wickets. Sunil’s batting has been very much liked this year and it has been the highlight of this season for the Knights. Gambhir has recently revealed how he felt when he faced Sunil Narayan for the first time. “I faced Sunil Narine on his international debut in Indore and within 7-8 balls, I knew he was going to go on to become a legend of the game, especially in T20,” Gambhir told Cyrus Broacha on the Knights Dugout. In cricket.” Gautam Gambhir taught KKR how it is important to be stubborn to win. Gambhir said, “I believe that the most talented teams do not win big tournaments. Rather, only the most courageous team will win the IPL, which will be ready to fight till the end. The mantra of this session is that we need to remain fearless. , He further said, “We must have the courage to remain positive at all times. And if you follow this path, I am very excited to see the kind of talent that we have in dressing. If we fight, stay courageous, I think we will be in good shape.” The Knights are scheduled to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next match on Sunday, April 21 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
