Hugh Edmeades will return as the auctioneer when the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction gets underway in Kochi on December 23. Edmeades took over from Richard Madley in 2018 and has been hosting the IPL auction ever since.
Edmeades collapsed on the floor in the ballroom of the ITC Gardenia hotel on the first day of the mega-auction in Bengaluru in February this year due to “postural hypotension”.
While the medical staff attended to him, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office-bearers requested Charu Sharma to fill in for Edmeades.
Edmeades returned to conduct the final phase of the auction amid loud cheers and a standing ovation from the franchises and the BCCI officials. However, there were apprehensions about whether the Board will continue with him as the auctioneer this time.
But on Tuesday, Edmeades confirmed that he will be conducting the auction and will reach Kochi on December 21 via Dubai.
“I am thrilled to have been asked by the BCCI to conduct the 2023 IPL auction and am excited about visiting Kochi for the first time,” Edmeades told Sportstar.
An independent fine art, classic car and charity auctioneer, Edmeades was associated with the iconic Christie’s for 38 years before going independent in 2016.
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In December 2018, when Edmeades travelled to Jaipur for the IPL auction, it was a new experience for him. Even though he had conducted more than 2,500 auctions across the globe by then, it was his first stint with Indian cricket.
After the auctions got over last year, Edmeades had told this publication that it was “stupid” on his part to skip meals, which could have been one of the triggers behind low blood pressure.
But not the one to dwell on the past, the veteran auctioneer is looking forward to an ‘exciting’ auction in Kochi with 10 franchises going all out to make some smart buys.
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