Shane Bond ­ A Million Dollar Man

Shane Bond is on top of the world after getting top dollar at the IPL player auction on Tuesday night.  Bond and West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard were the only players to blow-out the IPL salary cap of USD750, 000.
 
A frantic battle between the Deccan Chargers and Chennai Super Kings saw Chennai fold at $640K.  At that point The Kolkata Knight Riders entered the race, pushing bidding to the $750K cap.  This forced a silent tie-breaker, where teams can bid as much as they like.  Any amount over the salary cap is retained by the IPL.
 
Kolkata emerged from the tie-breaker victorious, having paid an un-disclosed sum for Bond¹s services for this year¹s tournament.
 
The Kolkata Knight Riders are owned by Shahrukh Kahn, India¹s biggest movie star.  They already have Brendon McCullum and Sourav Ganguly on their books.
The addition of Shane Bond to the ranks will surely boost their chances this year after a near bottom-of-the-table finish last year.
 
With the sound of champagne bottles audible in the background Bond was understandably happy with the result; ³I am stoked, we are just going to have a bit of a celebration.  Then it is just a matter of keeping fit and doing the best for Kolkata through the IPL.  I am really looking forward to the experience of playing with Brendon and Sourav Ganguly in front of 90,000 excited fans at Eden Gardens.²
 
The IPL kicks off on March 12 with the Knight Riders taking on the Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad.