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

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 MadleyI 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