Godfather of Mafia’s memorabilia draws big bidding

Cricketers sold for total R810m

THE TWO-DAY 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket auction is over after frenzied bidding as the eight franchises rebuilt their squads for the next season.

A jaw-dropping $68 million (about R810m) was spent at the auction in Bengaluru, India last weekend.

This year 578 players entered the auction, offering their services for 182 vacant slots. Eight South African players were bought, with Kagiso Rabada fetching the highest price at R7.7m.

The IPL is the world’s biggest domestic cricket tournament, attracting the best players from every cricket-playing nation.

Local new test sensation Lungi Ngidi will make his IPL debut this year after he was snapped up for R925 000.

Proteas star AB de Villiers was retained by his franchise for R20.3m.

The burden of building an IPL team falls on five or six decision-makers – typically the chairman, chief executive, coaches, team manager and analyst, who sit around their franchise table and bid for players. Bidding is always fast and furious with players having set a base price from which bidding starts. A MUGSHOT of the Mafia mobster Charles “Lucky” Luciano recently fetched $896 (about R10650) and a handwritten letter $2560 on auction in the US.

Luciano was an Italian-american and considered the father of modern organised crime in FEBRUARY 04 2018 the US. He died of a heart attack in 1962 on the way to meet a film producer about a movie based on his life. – Auctions Writer