IPL auctioneer Madley stands firm on Yuvraj sale decision

Royal Challengers Bangalore co-owner Vijay Mallya might have filed an official protest over the auction of Yuvraj Singh but IPL auctioneer Richard Madley today stood by his decision, describing the bid as fair and right decision. “There are times when I am asked to make decisions which I will always give an opinion I think is fair and in the situation yesterday I made a decision which I will stand by,” he told reporters after final day of IPL auctions held here. “I think I made a right decision. It was a fair decision,” said Madley, who has been the auctioneer for all six previous auctions of the Indian Premier League. [caption id=“attachment_1389105” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mallya yesterday had lodged an official complaint with the IPL Governing Council. Reuters[/caption] Mallya yesterday had lodged an official complaint with the IPL Governing Council, saying his franchise coughed up Rs 4 crore more on buying all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. Mallya complained that proper procedure was not followed in Yuvraj’s case because the hammer went down at Rs 10 crore and eventually the left-handed batsman was sold for Rs 14 crore to RCB. English-born Madley, a professional auctioneer from England, said he has come across such situations hundreds of time and it is part and parcel of biddings as big as IPL, which is also followed by fans all over the world. Madley, who is the President of Christie’s East, a division of arts auction house Christie’s, said he was honoured for being invited to conduct the auction. PTI