"MS Dhoni At $450,000, Shane Warne At...": IPL 2008 Auctioneer's Special Post Goes Viral

Richard Madley has a deep connection with the Indian Premier League (IPL). The auctioneer was in charge of the tournament's auction since its inception back in 2008 and he conducted it till 2018 when he was replaced by Hugh Edmeades, the current IPL auctioneer. Madley took to social media to post a throwback picture on the 16th anniversary of the first ever IPL auction. He posted an auction sheet containing the names of major marquee players like MS Dhoni and Shane Warne along with their base prices. He also asked the users to guess the teams and prices that the players ended up with.

"16 years ago today! The day before the first #IPL auction My “practice “ auctioneers sheets - to rehearse names, specialism and reserves - including #Dhoni Can you fill in the blanks? Anniversary tomorrow," Madley posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

16 years ago today!

The day before the first #IPL auction

My “practice “ auctioneers sheets - to rehearse names, specialism and reserves - including #Dhoni

Can you fill in the blanks?

Anniversary tomorrow #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/lr12Ja36Od

MS Dhoni's return to professional cricket will be one of biggest highlights of the IPL 2024. While the former Indian cricket team captain has long retired from international cricket, the T20 Franchise league is a platform where he continues to shine bright.

Last year, MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to a record-equalling fifth IPL title. While there have been several videos on social media showing MS Dhoni practicing, there is no official statement on whether he is game-fit or not.

A knee issue troubled him during the IPL 2023 and he even underwent surgery. MS Dhoni's former teammate Parthiv Patel gave an interesting update on his recent meeting with the