IPL auction 2022: I have made more cricketers millionaires than anybody else, but the next IPL auctioneer should be an Indian, says auctioneer Richard Madley | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: ‘Going once, going twice, Sold!’ Remember Richard Madley from the IPL auctions? He hosted IPL auctions over a decade, from its opening edition in 2008 to 2018, after which he was replaced by Hugh Edmeades, the current IPL auctioneer. Madley, who became synonymous with the IPL auction, still has the gavel with him which he used for IPL auctions. He is currently an ECB Level-2 cricket umpire in the UK.
With less than a day to go now for the IPL Mega Auction 2022, Madley spoke to TimesofIndia.com from England about his long association with the IPL auctions, some interesting facts, anecdotes, and much more…
Excerpts….
What have you been up to lately?
What a pleasure it is to join you today. I’m in remarkably good health. The cricket season hasn’t started yet. But I’ve retrained as an umpire. I’m an ECB Level-2 cricket umpire now. So, no longer playing. But I’m actually comparing umpiring with being an auctioneer, very similar, very similar attributes. I should be in control. I should make sure that Fair Play is carried out throughout the game.

Photo credit: Richard Madley
I should be firm. I should be fair, but I should be friendly. So, it’s been four years since I took my last IPL auction in Bangalore, and at this time of the year I would be there with my IPL gavel. I’ll be there following it live over the internet and just watching proceedings take place. It’s still as exciting, even if I’m not behind the rostrum.
You were part of the IPL auction for more than a decade. What was your IPL auction journey like?
I started the journey at the very beginning before we even held an auction. I came in to advise Lalit Modi and the IPL team on how to structure an auction. Auctions in India were a relatively new concept. So, we talked about bidding increments, we talked about setting a base price, we sort of talked about putting the players into sets, we talked about the timing, the rules, and regulations of auctions. So, I came in very much as a technical advisor. And then I was invited to come out to Mumbai. I’d never been to India before. And that was my first trip. It was all very exciting. It was very new. Nobody really knew what was going to happen on February the 20th in Mumbai. Because on that day, the world of cricket changed forever. And in some ways, the world of auctioneering changed as well and I happened to be that person with a gavel in my hand on the stage. So, of course, it has been a fantastic journey. I took 11 consecutive auctions, which I think is a record that’s unlikely to be beaten in the future and I enjoyed every moment of that journey.
Do you miss being an IPL auctioneer?
Oh yeah! It’s inevitable. The IPL auction became part of my life. Although it was only for one or two days a year. It is what I became well known for. I was called the ‘Hammer Man’. That’s what I was known as for 10 years. But I look back very proudly at what I did in those 10 years. We achieved a great deal and starting from a very low base, it became the most popular event in the Indian cricket calendar. I mean people would stop me in the streets and they would want to talk to me. I think they were as interested in actually having a selfie with the IPL gavel.

Photo credit: Richard Madley
You hosted the opening edition of the IPL Auction in 2008. Can you share some interesting memories from that edition of the auction?
Well, my father was an auctioneer. My father-in-law was an auctioneer. Auctioneering was in my blood. I played cricket at a modest level in the Surrey County League. So, I had a love of cricket. So, I combined an interest in cricket and auctioneering. And therefore, when their search went out, originally, for somebody to conduct this auction, I think I had the attributes they were looking for, to combine cricket with auctions. Also, in that first auction, it was conducted in US dollars, as opposed to Indian rupees. And, I had lived and worked in America for 10 years. So, I was very used to settling in dollars, which I think just helps. But I suppose, ultimately, it was the ability to stand up on the stage and perform and build a relationship with my audience in that warm Ballroom in the Oberoi Hilton that day. It was a very mixed audience. And I had no idea how big some of these celebrities were.
What were the challenges you faced being an IPL auctioneer?
The challenges are very similar to the ones while umpiring a game of cricket here in England. The unusual thing about the IPL auction, which is unique, is that I, as an auctioneer, have no incentive to drive the prices upwards. In a normal auction situation, I am paid on commission. I am rewarded to drive the prices up. I have no interest at all in doing that in the IPL auction, where the role of the auctioneer is to make sure the players get distributed fairly around the franchises. So, the only people who benefit from the prices being driven up in the IPL auction are the players themselves. They’re not paying me so I have no incentive to drive the prices up. I am just there to call what I see and make sure that it’s done in a fair way, in a friendly way. I like to try and keep the pace going as well because who knows 590 players in a mega auction. It’s a long two days, so you’ve got to try and keep the energy in the room. It’s easy at 10:30 on a Saturday morning, but can you still be energetic at 4 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon? A one-man show – that’s a challenge. I mean, you’re there in a room with eight franchises, 10 franchises next, but the nation is watching you.
Can you share some little-known facts from the IPL auctions that you have been a part of?
The IPL, the whole concept was dreamt up at a tennis match, not a cricket one. It was dreamt up in Wimbledon. It was the Wimbledon Championships in 2007 when Lalit Modi was speaking to Andrew Wildblood from IMG over a cup of tea in a break in play on center court. Modi said I want to change the way cricket is played in India. I want to revolutionise the way cricket is played in the world. I’ve got this idea. And from that cup of tea at Wimbledon, in the summer of 2007, following February, we had the first auction. Another thing is did you know that from the very first auction, I used the same hammer. It’s an English Hammer.

Photo credit: Richard Madley
You hosted the opening IPL Auction in 2008, the year when the Virat Kohli-led Under-19 team won the World Cup. This year the Yash Dhull-led team won the World Cup. Who do you think in this Under-19 Indian team can fetch a good price this time?
People would always ask me the same questions, who is your favorite player? Who is your favorite team? Who do you think will make the most money? Well, the whole thing about the auction process is that nobody knows. The franchise holders don’t know, the players don’t know. It’s only when the auctioneer actually gets in the rostrum that you get these prices page and they can be pleasing prices. Remember that everybody talks in the IPL about the big prices, but what about the players who remain unsold? Do you remember when Ganguly was unsold? Goodness me. I stood there, asking for a bid for Ganguly and I couldn’t get a bid. I looked around the room and people had incredulous looks. But every player has his day. So, therefore I don’t focus too much on the prices because if as an auctioneer you get sidetracked by wow, that was a huge price for a player, you can actually get disrupted. You’ve got to move on to that next player.
How has the IPL auction changed over the years?
It’s become more sophisticated. It really was quiet, it was almost quite amateurish in 2008. Remember in that first auction, the teams didn’t even have names. So, all the franchise holders did was to hold up a paddle with the name of the city. And the franchise holders became much better at bidding with time. They hold their own mock auctions; they would prepare for the auctions in a way that they’d never done before. They would have their own auctioneer and strategy became really, really important. So, I think it just developed as the tournament developed the strategy and the way that people conducted themselves in the auction that also improved.
Would you say that the franchises have become more mature now in terms of handling the auction process?
Definitely! The bidding techniques have certainly improved. There is a clear strategy now. The analysts and the coach do have a greater say. There are still some teams who get a little bit carried away at the auction and you can see that the strategy moves to one side and the emotion takes over. Someone like CSK is very well structured, very well ordered, very well disciplined. Rajasthan Royals are very shrewd. They don’t give anything away. And Punjab gets a bit excitable. They’ve all got personalities. And I think that’s nice that the auctioneer can develop a relationship with those teams without showing any favoritism whatsoever.
Can you share some interesting moments or anecdotes? Did you meet any star cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, or any Bollywood star like Shahrukh Khan?
It was a great privilege to meet MS Dhoni. I met MS Dhoni after the first IPL auction. I met him in Bangalore, for the first-ever IPL game. I watched the RCB vs KKR game with the Brendon McCullum innings, which is something people still talk about today. The captains of all the teams came along and I was just so honored to meet MS Dhoni and I was struck by how modest he was and how unaffected he was by fame or fortune. He thanked me for the price I got him at the auction. Gautam Gambhir was coming and meeting me. He had just been sold for a lot of money. He was also very grateful. So, I found the Indian cricketers that I have met all just being very grateful. Some I’ve made more Indian cricketers millionaires than anybody else in world cricket. I met Freddie Flintoff. And he bought me a beer and said thank you for making him a millionaire. I was happy to enjoy his company. At the auction, I got to meet all the Bollywood stars, owners of the franchises but I didn’t get starstruck, I enjoyed their company.

Photo credit: Richard Madley
What was the reason you didn’t return for the IPL auctions after 2018?
I conducted the last IPL Auction in 2018 that went successfully. I then returned to the UK. Normally I get an invitation towards the end of the year to host the auction from the BCCI. That invitation didn’t come through and I heard nothing. The next thing I got to know was that Mr Hugh Edmeades has been appointed the IPL Auctioneer. There was no explanation given to me. There were no thanks for my long service. As far as I know, I never put any foot wrong. This is the great unknown question in the history of IPL why Mr. Madley is no longer the auctioneer. I have had no communication with the BCCI in the last 4 years but my phone is ready for every communication. I have only good memories of the IPL. I have only made friends there. Never say never.
Are you in touch with the current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly in any way for a possible comeback?
I am always available. I never said never. I am always open to serving the IPL Auction. My personal belief is that the next IPL auctioneer should be Indian. He or she should be based in India.