IPL Auction (Photo Source: twitter)
The coveted Women’s Premier League (WPL) already boasts of rich history and fond memories. In the same vein, taking a ride in a time capsule will surely make every cricket aficionado remember the first-ever IPL auction and auctioneer of India’s premier T20 extravaganza- the Indian Premier League (IPL). Now it seems like life has come to a full circle with new history written each season especially after the league competition started for women as well. Hence, who can forget the renowned first auctioneer Richard Madley?
After Mallika Sagar successfully conducted two memorable seasons for the WPL, she embarks on a new journey thereby scripting history by becoming the first female auctioneer for the premier men’s event. Notably, Sagar will be conducting the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai, on Tuesday, December 19. In the same vein, Madley recently took to social media to extend his benevolent wishes to the new rising star of the auction world and reminded her of the golden opportunity by saying that this was the ultimate honour in any auctioneer’s life.
“Good luck Mallika Sagar as you prepare for the #IPL2024Auction. It is the ultimate honour to be invited to conduct the world’s highest-profile auction and I wish you well. I will always treasure the memories,” Madley tweeted on his ‘X’ handle.
Good luck Mallika Sagar as you prepare for the #IPL2024Auction .
It is the ultimate honour to be invited to conduct the world’s highest profile auction and I wish you well.
I will always treasure the memories #IPLAuction #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/6IKznkKlXD— Richard Madley (@iplauctioneer) December 18, 2023
Several renowned personalities have donned auctioneer hats in IPL history
Interestingly, Mallika Sagar is the first female auctioneer but when it comes to IPL auction history, she will be the fourth auctioneer in the league’s rich history. Richard Madley conducted many historical auctions for IPL for almost a decade. Notably, Madley first time clambered the hammer back in 2008 and carried on the honours till the IPL 2018 edition.
Thereafter, for a change, another renowned personality Hugh Edmeades took charge of conducting the IPL auctions, who also once collapsed on stage while the auction was on due to a medical reason called- postural hypotension. As a result, Charu Sharma was bestowed with the honour of being the first Indian to conduct the coveted IPL auction due to a medical emergency.