From auctioning Dhoni to missing out on Tendulkar, Richard Madley opens up about world of auctions (Photo: BCCI)

A few hours later, millions of eyes will be magnetised to the screens of televisions and smartphones to witness the epic phenomena called the Indian Premier League auction. As many as 332 players including 186 Indian, 143 overseas and three players from Associate Nations will go under the hammer with the franchises looking to revamp their respective squads in a bid to bolster their chances of winning the coveted IPL trophy.

IPL auction can change the fortune of a player – popular or not so popular – overnight. It has brought plenty of unknown faces in the limelight and gave them the much-needed launchpad to excel in the biggest of the platform in the world of franchise cricket. It has thrown hidden faces inside the dressing rooms with legendary names in world cricket while turning them millionaires in a blink of an eye.

However, the process of conducting an IPL auction is rather a tricky tale. From hundreds of players to just eight franchises trying to fill in the slots with the best possible talent, it is an event filled with razzmatazz with nail-biting action and drama.

Richard Madley or @iplauctioneer on social media platform Twitter has been an integral part of IPL auctions since its birth. Even though Madley will be missing this year’s IPL auction as well after being relieved of his duties in 2018, the fans and cricket fraternity still remember the iconic voice and the way he gracefully conducted the auctions for as many as 11 years.

In an exclusive interview with Subhayan Chakraborty of Timesnownews.com, Richard Madley opened about a lot of things during his time as the IPL auctioneer. From how the idea of IPL was planted during Wimbledon, how MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir met him after being sold for a hefty price, his regret of not being able to auction Sachin Tendulkar, the conflicted moments during IPL auctions, and much more, Madley provided a gripping insight to the world of auctions.

(Photo: IPL)

Subhayan Chakraborty: Most cricket fans know you from IPL. Tell us more about yourself, how did you become an auctioneer?

Richard Madley: My father was an auctioneer, my father in law was an auctioneer. I grew up in a family business which was auctioneering. So I would sell furniture, pictures, carpets, silver, we sold mainly fine arts and antiques in the family business. But my love was for cricket and I aspired to be a professional cricketer at an early age. However, aspirations and abilities don’t often come in a line. I realised, I wouldn’t be able to make it as a professional cricketer. So I focused my career on auctioneering. I started from the very bottom and made it to the very top of the profession honing my skills by auctioning the fine arts all around the world. My love for cricket continued and I would sell many cricket memorabilia. I sold cricket bats, signed autographs and photographs from the golden age of cricket and through that I met international Test cricketers who asked me to conduct auctions for them be it Nick Knight, Matthew Maynard, Andrew Flintoff and all the other big players. So that was a combination of cricket and auctions.

(Photo: BCCI)

SC: How did IPL happen? As you were an integral part of all the planning in the inaugural edition, were there any concerns or doubts that it might end up being a failure as it was something new to the Indian audience.

RM: When I look back to my 10 years of involvement with the IPL, I am very proud of what I have achieved. I got involved in the auction process right at the very beginning for the auction when it was being planned. I advised the IMG – who are still the organisers of the IPL. I made them understand the rules and protocols of conducting the auction, how to fix the increments. Right from the bottom to up, we planned the IPL auctions. I gotta say that perhaps there was a certain amount of reservation on my behalf on how successful it would be because no one had ever done it before. When anything is new there are always doubts about whether it would succeed but Lalit Modi was very keen on using the auction process as it was a very transparent process. But nobody knew the phenomenon it would become on that day at the Oberoi Hotel in 2008. I have said it a number of times that the world of cricket changed that day and the world of auctions changed that day and I was the person right in the middle of it. Honestly, I took it as a normal auction and had no idea how big it would become. I am sure nobody thought the phenomenon that was created - some might say unintentionally, Lalit Modi would say intentionally.

SC: What was the very first auction like? Were there some nerves?

RM: I had no idea about the reputation of the industrialists, the Bollywood stars, airline owners before the auction. Remember, I had never been to India before it, I always wanted to but I never ended up being there. The nearest I had gone to India was watching them play live in England. So when people threw out names like Ambani's, Mallya's, Priety Zinta, Shah Rukh Khan, they meant a very little to me and that worked well for me or otherwise, I might have ended up being overexcited. I was there to do a job with people holding up paddles with a chance to spend some money to build their squad.

SC: Who was the first player to be auctioned in IPL?

RM: The first player I sold was Shane Warne. When I saw a paddle going up it had the name of ‘Jaipur’. There was no competitive bid further than his base price and that was a very clever move from the Jaipur franchise as he went on to win the tournament in the first edition. The teams during the first auction didn’t even have names. It was extraordinary how the paddles had pieces of plastics with the names of the cities. Interestingly, there are no good footages from the very first auction and another example of how people didn’t realise how big it was going to get. But I have kept some great souvenirs and memories from the auctions.

Just found my one and only auction sheet for the historic first ever #VIVOIPL auction in 2008.@msdhoni sold to @ChennaiIPL A rare piece of cricket memorabilia

Will be watching #CSKvMI on @hotstarUK #CricketMeriJaan #WhistlePodu #VIVOIPLFinal pic.twitter.com/5M5qY2tPy5 — Richard Madley (@iplauctioneer) May 12, 2019

SC: Do you remember the bidding war for MS Dhoni? Did it set the platform for other players to follow in the auction?

RM: I was very aware of MS Dhoni’s reputation and his ability. And I was told that there would be much competition for him. He had placed his base price at $400,000 so it was a modest price. I was not aware of how determined the Chennai franchise (they weren’t called Chennai Super Kings back then) to acquire the services of MS Dhoni. Of course, there was an underbidder who had bid $1,400,000 and then let him go, I wonder if they have regretted it ever since. He was destined to play for Chennai, I guess. Once the Dhoni phenomenon took off, the scene was set. Prior to that, we had some good bids but it was Dhoni’s bid which just blew the roof off. He had smashed the million-mark and that’s when I thought we have the auction going on.

(Photo: IPL)

SC: How many players have actually come and thanked you for making things happen for them? Can you recall some of them?

RM: Because the idea of IPL auction is to be held during the international playing season. It’s very rare that I meet players at the auction venue. So the players I have met is when I have been to India to watch cricket during the IPL. But it was a great honour to meet MS Dhoni at the start of IPL 1 when I was introduced to him and I was struck by his charm and modesty, he was quite withdrawn but a great company. He thanked me for achieving that price on his behalf. Gautam Gambhir was another man who came up to me and thanked me after he had received an extraordinary price from Kolkata Knight Riders.

(Photo: IPL)

Yuvraj Singh was another player. Andrew Flintoff, he bought me a beer and the only way Freddie Flintoff could show his gratitude. And it was in South Africa when Kevin Pietersen had the chance to buy me one but life is a long way and Kevin, I am sure you are going to be persuaded to buy me a beer one day. Ben Stokes came up to me on Twitter after being sold and I am sure that there would be a glass waiting for me when we meet up. I am sure I am going to meet someone like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer or Jos Buttler during the English domestic season.

SC: While you have sold some of the biggest names in world cricket, can you pick a player you will regret not being in the auction pool?

RM: Sachin Tendulkar! Can you imagine pulling his name and asking for a bid for Sachin Tendulkar? I think if I had opened the bidding in 2008, it would still be going on today.

SC: Most controversial and conflicted moments from IPL auction?

RM: There been two disputed bids with both involving Royal Challengers Bangalore. One was a bidding dispute with Priety Zinta of Kings XI Punjab. The other one with Kolkata Knight Riders. I settled it those the way I thought was correct and proper. It attracted a bit of controversy back then. When everyone is bidding quickly with laughs and cheers – those are the easy bids. But it is during the controversial bids when an auctioneer earns his keep. I would still stand with the way those two bids were handled. It is a lonely place for an auctioneer up there, you don’t have a second or third umpire, I can’t go upstairs!

SC: Have you preserved the iconic gavel or you still use it?

RM: The gavel comes with me all around the UK and India. It has more selfies than I get! It’s got a huge following itself. Everybody wants to get hold of the gavel, knock it down and says “SOLD”. It’s become a trademark. The BCCI said it wanted to preserve the gavel in a cricket museum they were planning. So they would have had the first option for it had the museum got constructed. But now it stays with me.

SC: Have you ever given a thought of writing a book about IPL auctions and your career?

I would be interested in writing a book on my career. And if not the entire book than the biggest of the chapter would be on IPL. People aren’t aware of how it started. Lalit Modi dreamt of the concept of IPL not inside a cricket ground but at Wimbledon in 2007 during a break of play with rain pouring in during the English summer. But Lalit Modi – the architect of the tournament – was in talks with IMG in a bid to revolutionise cricket in India. Those were the initial conversation and the meetings were held in IMG’s office in London in the following weeks. So a little known fact that the IPL was conceptualised at Wimbledon. I have some great snippets from the IPL and I would be delighted to share the stories.

SC: Who might end up being the highest bidder this time? Could it be an Englishman?

RM: Could it be an English player? I think that the majority of top English players are well settled with the nucleus of English players are with Rajasthan Royals (Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes). Eoin Morgan would make a great captain, great tactician but he had a great side around him in England. If there’s a side that needs a captain then he’s your man. If Jason Roy can come off then he could be immense! I would be watching the auction on television on wish best of luck to everyone.

(Photo: AP)

SC: Your sudden exit from IPL shocked many fans. Will be you be willing to come back if asked?

RM: I had a year to reflect on their decision of not requiring my services. And I have gone on record to say that I was bruised at the time and somewhat sad. Being replaced is natural, every cricketer, sportsperson go through that process but whenever someone is dropped then a reason is given be it lack of form or a mistake made or better younger players coming through. But at that time I was disappointed as there was no explanation given to me and still hasn’t. I have moved on, I am still as good as auctioneer as I was during my last IPL auction. I still conduct many auctions. Even though I won’t be in Kolkata on December 19, I would be conducting an auction in the UK for raising money for homeless people. And if invited back in the future, of course, I would come back. I still have some unfinished business in India and it is my second home. It is an honour and privilege to be at the charge of IPL auction. Maybe they could conduct a fan poll on who should conduct the next IPL auction – the Mega IPL auction – and I feel that would be a fairer way to go about things.