Mallya happy with IPL shopping

Star England player Kevin Pietersen on Friday became one of the most expensive players of the Indian Premier League after being sold for a whopping $1.55 mn (Rs 7.35 crore) in the second edition, getting Rs 1.35 crore more than what Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni got in the first edition.

The hard-hitting Pietersen, who was England's captain till recently, was bought by Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Bangalore Royal Challenger, who had finished at the bottom half of the high-profile League in the inaugural edition, spent most of their total amount of $1.95 mn on the highly talented Pietersen who had base price of $1.35 mn.

Owner of Bangalore Royal Challengers Vijay Mallya said he was always keen to get the services of Pietersen as he would add value to the team. "I was always keen to get Pietersen. He would be a superb addition to the team. We had a list of players before the auction and KP topped that list. We needed to strengthen our batting and I was prepared to pay more for him," Mallya said.

"It is a worthwhile investment and ensure the balance that we wanted in our team", he said.

New Zealand all-rounder Jesse Ryder was bought for $160,000 (Rs 78 lakh) by Bangalore Royal Challengers.