IPL auctioneer Richard Madley says he has been ‘dropped’

It’s less than two weeks to go before the franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) come together to pick the best of the talents at the auction ahead of the 12th edition of the tournament starting next March. Over 1,000 players have registered for the event which will take place in Jaipur on December 18. The squads will see different faces and new combinations but among all the changes, one major change in this auction will be the absence of Richard Madley, the auctioneer who is fondly called “The Hammerman”.

A career auctioneer from Wales, 60-year-old Madley has represented Wales in hockey as a junior player and also played cricket in Surrey. He has been involved with IPL auctioneering for more than a decade now and will be replaced by Hugh Edmeades, a classic car auctioneer with more than three decades of experience. However, the fans were so familiar to see Madley conducting the business over the years that they felt sad with his exit and sought his return.

Madley himself took to Twitter to clarify that it was not his decision to skip this year’s auction but the Indian cricket board’s which he said decided against inviting him this time. “In cricket terms I have been dropped,” he wrote in his tweet, followed by two sad emojis.

Thank you 🙏 for your kind wishes following the news that I am to be replaced as the #IPL auctioneer.

To be clear – this was not my decision. I was not invited to conduct #IPL auction by @BCCI .
In cricket terms I have been dropped.☹️☹️☹️🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳

— Richard Madley (@iplauctioneer) December 6, 2018

In another tweet, he said it was an honour for him to be a part of the IPL from the beginning and said he would miss his friends and followers in India and elsewhere. A TV expert with BBC, Madley has in the past made calls over a number of legendary players who participated in the IPL in the past. In a way, discontinuing with Madley is in a way marks an end of history.

Sorry not to be conducting #IPL2019 auction .
It’s been an honour and a privilege to have been part of #IPL from the start.
Will miss my many friends and followers in #India and beyond.
Thank you 🙏 for the welcome you have always shown .
The Hammerman

— Richard Madley (@iplauctioneer) December 5, 2018

Madley made a famous remark on Dhoni after IPL 2008 auction

One of Madley’s famous remarks that he made after the auctioneering before the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 was about former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and it was recalled by a Chennai Super Kings fan while responding to one of Madley’s parting tweets.

He had said on the occasion that no other experience could match his dropping the hammer selling Dhoni for $1.5 million. Dhoni was the most expensive player in the inaugural edition and remained with the Super Kings as captain since then excepting two seasons when the franchise stood suspended.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.