By IANS
Mumbai : The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council has penalised the Jaipur franchise for not meeting the mandatory minimum amount set for buying players at Wednesday’s gala auction of cricketers.
The organisers had set a minimum $3.3 million for all franchise teams to be spent on the auction, but Jaipur bought eight players shelling out only $2.9 million.
A top official of the governing council confirmed that as a penalty the Jaipur franchise has been asked to deposit the difference.
“The Jaipur franchise has been fined for failing to meet the mandatory amount required to be spent at yesterday’s players’ auction. They have been asked to pay the difference to the organisers as a fine,” IPL chairman Lalit Modi said.
Though Jaipur had underbid at the auction, five other franchises – for Mohali, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata – have overtaken the maximum limit of $5 million.
The Jaipur team, owned by Britain-based Emerging Media, has purchased Mohammad Kaif, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel from India, while their overseas catch include Shane Warne, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Justin Langer and Graeme Smith.