Dhoni is Priceless

By evening, long after the figures had rolled to a stop, and around 80 of the world's best cricketers had fetched nearly US$42 million, the headlines continued to scream: "Chennai buys Dhoni for US$1.5 million."

It was an amount that defied all predictions; it was a bid that stunned some of India's leading corporate names huddled around adjoining tables, and it was a fascinating contest between two teams in a dizzy race to grab India's World Twenty20-winning captain.

Cricinfo has learnt the bid for Dhoni went down to the wire, with almost all teams raising paddles in turns to indicate their bids, starting from the base price of US$400,000. By the time the bids crossed the US$900,000 mark, only two teams were in the fray: Mumbai, which had entered the race just then, and Chennai. Soon, Chennai raised its paddle with a figure that sparked a buzz in the auction room: US$1 million.