06 February,2009 01:00 PM IST | | Agencies
England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff joined the Indian Premier League as its most expensive players after being sold for 1.55 million dollars each today.
Pietersen was bought by liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers at a televised auction in this popular holiday resort, while
Flintoff went for the same price to Chennai Super Kings.
Both players broke the existing record of India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was purchased by the Chennai franchise for 1.50 million dollars last year.
Pietersen and Flintoff will, however, receive only half their money as England players are available for just the first three weeks of the lucrative six-week Twenty20 tournament.
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Tournament rules stipulate that payments are made on a pro-rata basis for matches played.
"A player like Kevin is a great buy for us," said a beaming Mallya, whose team finished seventh out of eight teams in the inaugural edition of the tournament last year.
"He is one of the most explosive batsmen in the world and will bring a lot of class to our team."
Indian cricket board secretary N. Srinivasan, who owns the Chennai Super Kings, said he was delighted to have all-rounder Flintoff on board.
"Twenty20 cricket is a game for all-rounders and Flintoff is one of the best in the business," said Srinivasan, whose team entered last year's final where they lost to the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals.
The Royals, partly owned by Bollywood actress and British reality TV star Shilpa Shetty, picked up Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait for 375,000 dollars.
Young South African Jean-Paul Duminy confirmed his rising stature in the sport when Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians, owned by industralist Mukesh Ambani, bought him for a whopping 950,000 dollars.
About 50 international cricketers are being auctioned for a likely 17 spots that will fill the total available purse of 13.59 million dollars.
None of the Indian players are part of the auction as they were snapped up last year.
The second edition of the tournament, featuring the eight teams owned by tycoons, film stars and leading business houses, will be played across India in April-May.
