Retired batsman Damien Martyn, one of the two Australian players sold at the IPL auction, said it was his ex-teammate and Rajasthan Royal’s captain Shane Warne who guided him in sending his entry for the auction.
The 38-year-old Martyn, who quit international cricket in 2006, was on Tuesday bought by the Rajasthan outfit for $100,000 (45.5 lakhs), giving a major boost to his seemingly finished cricket career.
Another Australian, who found a place in the tournament was one-day specialist Adam Voges, who was also picked by the Royals for $50,000.
Martyn said that he met Warne recently in Australia and inquired about his prospects in the IPL.
“We had a chat about the pros and cons and he put me on to certain people including (IPL commissioner) Lalit Modi.
“I said I had to get my paperwork in order and Warnie said he might be interested, depending on which other players were available,” Martyn told The Australian .
That paperwork included signing out of the rebel Indian Cricket League, where Martyn had led the Ahmedabad Rockets.
The right-hand batsman had attended Australia’s national cricket academy with Warne 20 years ago and they have been firm friends ever since.
Other Australian players like Brad Haddin, Doug Bollinger and Phil Hughes went unsold in the auction due to uncertainty over their availability for the whole tournament, because of a series against New Zealand.
Parnell stunned
The staggering $610,000 that Delhi Daredevils shelled out to secure the service of Wayne Parnell has left the exciting South African pacer stunned.
“I never expected this — it’s a huge sum of money!” was the reaction of the 20-year-old pacer.
Parnell told the Afrikaans daily ‘ Beeld ’ that he knew the Daredevils were interested in him after his national teammate and Daredevils player AB de Villiers had told him how much David Saker, bowling coach of the IPL side, was impressed with the left-arm pacer.
Meanwhile, his agent revealed that Parnell had in fact signed a contract with the Mumbai Indians but the IPL governing council decided that since he was an international player, he would be put through the auction, which rendered the contract null and void.
Parnell became the third highest paid South African cricketer in IPL, after J.P. Duminy and Jacques Kallis.
