Hugh Edmeades received’t be the gavel grasp when the Indian Premier League (IPL) public sale will get underway in Dubai on December 19.
Sportstar understands that the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already knowledgeable Edmeades – a seasoned auctioneer – that his providers wouldn’t be required for this version. Sources indicated that Mallika Sagar, who’s the auctioneer for the Ladies’s Premier League (WPL), might be thought of for the one-day occasion in Dubai, topic to her availability.
RELATED | IPL public sale 2024: Full listing of squads, gamers after retention day
Edmeades took over from Richard Madley in 2018 and has been internet hosting the IPL public sale ever since. He collapsed on the ground within the ballroom of the ITC Gardenia lodge on the primary day of the mega-auction in Bengaluru in February final yr on account of “postural hypotension”.
Whereas the medical workers attended to him, the BCCI office-bearers requested Charu Sharma to fill in for Edmeades. Edmeades returned to conduct the ultimate section of the public sale amid loud cheers and a standing ovation from the franchises and the BCCI officers.
Nonetheless, there have been apprehensions about whether or not the Board will proceed with him because the auctioneer for the 2023 public sale in Kochi. However the Indian cricket board determined to proceed with Edmeades on the mini-auction.
An unbiased high-quality artwork, traditional automotive and charity auctioneer, Edmeades was related to the enduring Christie’s for 38 years earlier than going unbiased in 2016.
In December 2018, when Edmeades travelled to Jaipur for the IPL public sale, it was a brand new expertise for him. Although he had carried out greater than 2,500 auctions throughout the globe by then, it was his first stint with Indian cricket.
Over the previous couple of years, Edmeades has been synonymous with IPL public sale and despite the fact that he wouldn’t be in motion this time round, the Englishman may nonetheless be thought of for the mega public sale subsequent yr.
In the meantime, Sagar can be again because the WPL auctioneer in Mumbai on December 9. An auctioneer on the Pundole’s in Mumbai, Sagar – after finishing her main in artwork historical past from Bryn Mawr Faculty in Philadelphia – started her profession at Christie’s in 2001, being its first girl auctioneer of Indian origin.
Although the final version of the WPL public sale was her first stint with cricket, Sagar isn’t any stranger to sports activities auctions. In 2021, she was the auctioneer for the Professional Kabaddi League – turning into the primary girl to conduct the auctions within the league.