This is a list of all auctions and personnel signings for the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL).
The auctions for team ownership were held on 24 January 2008. The base price of each team was set at 50 million. The auction fetched a total amount of 723.59 million against the combined base price of 400 million. Mumbai was the most expensive team, costing over 111.9 million. The auction also led to controversy regarding the conflict of interest with then BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan holding a stake in the Chennai team.[1] [2]
| Team | City | Franchise Owner(s) | Cost (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangalore | Vijay Mallya's United Spirits | 111.60 | ||
| Chennai | India Cements | 91.00 | ||
| Delhi | GMR Group | 84.00 | ||
| Hyderabad | Deccan Chronicle | 107.00 | ||
| Jaipur | Emerging Media-led consortium | 67.00 | ||
| Kolkata | Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment | 75.09 | ||
| Mohali | Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Dabur's Mohit Burman | 76.00 | ||
| Mumbai | Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries | 111.90 |
Icon player was a status given to five players of the Indian Premier League to ensure that top drawer players will represent their respective home city sides, which was important for the league to increase fan support and interest among the locals. The icon players received 15% percent more money than the highest paid player of the team bought in the auction. Initially four icon players were designated but later on the request of Delhi Daredevils, Virender Sehwag's name was added to the list. Deccan Chargers also asked for Icon Player status to be given to VVS Laxman, but he declined the offer in order to allow the franchise to spend more money on other players and still not breach the US$5 million salary cap.[3] [4] [5]
| Name | Team | Highest bid by the team (in thousands) | Salary (in thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | Mumbai Indians | 975 | 1121 | |
| Sourav Ganguly | Kolkata Knight Riders | 950 | 1093 | |
| Rahul Dravid | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 900 | 1035 | |
| Yuvraj Singh | Kings XI Punjab | 925 | 1064 | |
| Virender Sehwag | Delhi Daredevils | 725 | 834 |
The first auction was held on 20 February 2008. The total salary cap was set at 5 million with a minimum of 3.3 million to be spend. Players were divided into categories with Category-A, B, C and D representing prominent players. Remaining wicket-keepers, all-rounders, batsmen and bowlers were kept in category-E, F, G and H, respectively. 77 players signed up for auction including 48 foreign players.[6] [7] 75 players were auctioned with Mohammed Yousuf and Ashwell Prince remaining unsold. MS Dhoni was the costliest player at 1.5 million. Andrew Symonds was the most costly foreign player. The unsold players were paid their base price by the BCCI.[5] [8] Jaipur was fined for not reaching the minimum spending of 3 million.[9]
REC: Players unsold originally but were brought back.
The second IPL auction for foreign players took place in Mumbai on 11 March 2008. 26 players including unsold players from auction-1 signed up for the auction. The base price was set at 50,000.[10] [11] 14 players were sold in the auction. James Hopes was the costliest player at 300,000. Dimitri Mascarenhas became the first English player to sign up for IPL. Mohammed Yousuf again remained unsold in 2nd auction due to continuing dispute with Indian Cricket League.[12] [13] IPL allowed teams to cross 8 foreign players limit. Players sold lower than their signed up price were paid the remaining amount by IPL.[14] [15] [16]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Speciality | Team | Auctioned Price (in thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammed Yousuf |  Pakistan | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 2 | Morne Morkel | South Africa | Bowler | Rajasthan Royals | 60 | |
| 3 | Ashwell Prince | South Africa | Batsman | Mumbai Indians | 175 | |
| 4 | Kyle Mills |  New Zealand | Bowler | Kings XI Punjab | 150 | |
| 5 | Mohammad Hafeez | Pakistan | All-rounder | Kolkata Knight Riders | 100 | |
| 6 | Ross Taylor | New Zealand | Batsman | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 100 | |
| 7 | Peter Fulton | New Zealand | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 8 | Jamie How | New Zealand | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 9 | Jeetan Patel | New Zealand | Allrounder | Unsold | ||
| 10 | Chris Martin | New Zealand | Bowler | Unsold | ||
| 11 | James Franklin | New Zealand | Allrounder | Unsold | ||
| 12 | Brad Hodge |  Australia | Allrounder | Unsold | ||
| 13 | Shane Watson | Australia | Allrounder | Rajasthan Royals | 125 | |
| 14 | Phil Jaques | Australia | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 15 | James Hopes | Australia | Allrounder | Kings XI Punjab | 300 | |
| 16 | Brett Geeves | Australia | Bowler | Delhi Daredevils | 50 | |
| 17 | Luke Pomersbach | Australia | Batsman | Kings XI Punjab | 50 | |
| 18 | Prasanna Jayawardene |  Sri Lanka | Wicketkeeper | Unsold | ||
| 19 | Mohammad Ashraful | Bangladesh | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 20 | Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh | Allrounder | Unsold | ||
| 21 | Misbah-ul-Haq | Pakistan | Batsman | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 125 | |
| 22 | Salman Butt | Pakistan | Batsman | Kolkata Knight Riders | 100 | |
| 23 | Yasir Hameed | Pakistan | Batsman | Unsold | ||
| 24 | Dimitri Mascarenhas | England | Allrounder | Rajasthan Royals | 100 | |
| 25 | Sohail Tanvir | Pakistan | Bowler | Rajasthan Royals | 100 | |
| 26 | Abdur Razzak | Bangladesh | Bowler | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 50 |
Along with 2nd Auction, the 15 players from winners of 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup along with Viraj Kadbe were picked upon draft system based upon US National Football League. The franchises were randomly allotted numbers from 1 to 8. The franchise assigned the number 1 got the choice of picking player first and then the second franchise and so on. After eight players were picked, the order of the bidding reversed.[17] Delhi was the first team and chose Pradeep Sangwan. Deccan Chargers passed on both of their drafts. Delhi Daredevils also picked only one of the draft while Chennai Super Kings picked three players. The players with Ranji experience were paid 50,000 and remaining 30,000.[18] [14] [16]
IPL franchise could sign Indian players at any time.[19] The base price for was fixed at $50,000 for the Ranji Trophy players and $20,000 for those having not played the Ranji Trophy. Franchises had to pick minimum four under-22 Indian players from their designated catchment area in their squad. Praveen Kumar was claimed to be signed by both Delhi and Bangalore franchise, with the player later confirming that he had joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore.[20] The following players were signed before the tournament.
N-RAN: Players having not played Ranji Trophy at the time of tournament.4
Players were signed as replacement of contracted players who were not available to play due to injuries and national commitments. Under IPL rules, the replacements cannot be paid more than the players they are replacing, though they can be paid less.[35] The following players withdrew from the tournament either due to injuries or because of other reasons.
| Players | Nationality | Team | Reason | Announcement date | Replacement Player | Nationality | Signing date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Langer | Australia | Rajasthan Royals | Pre-existing contract with Somerset County | 23 February 2008 | [36] | ||||
| Morne Morkel | South Africa | Rajasthan Royals | Pre-existing contract with Yorkshire County | 14 March 2008 | [37] | ||||
| Shoaib Akhtar | Pakistan | Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 April 2008 | Allowed to play back on 4 May after suspension of Ban | [38] [39] | ||||
| Sudeep Tyagi |  India | Chennai Super Kings | Stress Fracture in the Back | [40] | |||||
| Nathan Bracken | Australia | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Knee Surgery Recovery | 14 April 2008 | Ashley Noffke | Australia | 14 April 2008 | [41] | |
| Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka | Mumbai Indians | Knee Injury | 19 April 2008 | Dwayne Bravo |  West Indies | 19 April 2008 | [42] | |
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Kolkata Knight Riders | Replacement for players on International duty | Brad Hodge | Australia | 26 April 2008 | [43] | ||
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | ||||||||
| Brett Lee | Australia | Kings XI Punjab | International Duty | 28 April 2008 | [44] | ||||
| Simon Katich | Australia | ||||||||
| Kyle Mills | New Zealand | International Duty | 28 April 2008 | ||||||
| Harbhajan Singh | India | Mumbai Indians | Banned after slapping Sreesanth | 28 April 2008 | [45] | ||||
| Chris Gayle |  West Indies | Kolkata Knight Riders | Groin Injury and International Duty | 29 April 2008 | [46] | ||||
| Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | Delhi Daredevils | International Duty | 30 April 2008 | |||||
| Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Kolkata Knight Riders | |||||||
| Jacob Oram | New Zealand | Chennai Super Kings | |||||||
| Ross Taylor | New Zealand | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 1 May 2008 | ||||||
| Ricky Ponting | Australia | Kolkata Knight Riders | International Duty | 1 May 2008 | |||||
| Matthew Hayden | Australia | Chennai Super Kings | |||||||
| Michael Hussey | Australia | ||||||||
| Andrew Symonds | Australia | Deccan Chargers | |||||||
| Ashley Noffke | Australia | Royal Challengers Bangalore | |||||||
| Brad Hodge | Australia | Kolkata Knight Riders | International Duty | 9 May 2008 | [47] | ||||
| Dimitri Mascarenhas | England | Rajasthan Royals | County duty with Hampshire | 12 May 2008 | [48] | ||||
| Makhaya Ntini | South Africa | Chennai Super Kings | Replacement for players on International duty | Chamara Kapugedera | Sri Lanka | 8 May 2008 | [49] | ||
| V. V. S. Laxman | India | Deccan Chargers | Hairline Fracture | 12 May 2008 | [50] | ||||
| Cheteshwar Pujara | India | Kolkata Knight Riders | Withdrawn by the team | 13 May 2008 | [51] | ||||
| Ranadeb Bose | India | ||||||||
| Yashpal Singh | India | ||||||||
| Saurasish Lahiri | India | ||||||||
| Rohan Banerjee | India | ||||||||
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul |  West Indies | Royal Challengers Bangalore | International Duty | 15 May 2008 | |||||
| Ramnaresh Sarwan | West Indies | Kings XI Punjab | [52] | ||||||
| Dwayne Bravo | West Indies | Mumbai Indians | International Duty | 17 May 2008 | Andre Nel | South Africa | 17 May 2008 | [53] | |
| Dwayne Smith |  West Indies | 19 May 2008 | [54] | ||||||
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Replacement for players on International duty | Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka | 18 May 2008 | [55] | ||||
| Stephen Fleming | New Zealand | Chennai Super Kings | Birth of his child | 29 May 2008 | [56] | ||||
| Graeme Smith | South Africa | Rajasthan Royals | Hamstring Injury | 31 May 2008 | [57] | ||||
| Staff | Nationality | Team | Role | Announcement date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Shipperd | Australia | Delhi Daredevils | Coach | 19 February 2008 | [58] | |
| Tom Moody | Australia | Kings XI Punjab | Coach | 18 February 2008 | [59] | |
| John Buchanan | Australia | Kolkata Knight Riders | Coach | 20 February 2008 | [60] | |
| Robin Singh | India | Deccan Chargers | Coach | 21 February 2008 | [61] | |
| Kepler Wessels | South Africa | Chennai Super Kings | Coach | 27 February 2008 | [62] | |
| Shane Warne | Australia | Rajasthan Royals | Coach | 28 February 2008 | [63] | |
| Venkatesh Prasad | India | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Coach | 13 March 2008 | [64] | |
| Martin Crowe | New Zealand | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Chief Cricket Officer | 13 March 2008 | ||
| Charu Sharma | India | Royal Challengers Bangalore | CEO | 13 March 2008 | ||
| Neil Maxwell | Australia | Kings XI Punjab | CEO | 18 March 2008 | [65] | |
| Jeremy Snape | England | Rajasthan Royals | Performance Coach | 8 April 2008 | [66] | |
| Lalchand Rajput | India | Mumbai Indians | Coach | 8 April 2008 | [67] | |
| Harsha Bhogle | India | Mumbai Indians | Team Advisor | 8 April 2008 | ||
| Dennis Lillee | Australia | Delhi Daredevils | Bowling consultant | 17 April 2008 | [68] |