New Delhi: Reputation counts for little, it was evident on day one and day two of the IPL auction with heavyweights such as Chris Gayle failing to find buyers in the initial two rounds.
Gayle, who formed one of the most dangerous opening pairings in the IPL alongside Virat Kohli, found no takers in the first two rounds but Preity Zinta co-owned KXIP stole the West Indian for hi 2 crores base price in the third and Final round.
The West Indian was brought back to the auction pool on day two with other unsold players at the request of franchises.
The 38-year-old Gayle has the fastest T20 century to his name, off 30 balls for RCB versus Pune Warriors in 2013. However, he has been battling with an erratic form of late.
He did not do anything noticeable in the away series against New Zealand in December-January. But he did grab a lot of attention after smashing an unbeaten 146 off 69 balls in the Bangladesh Premier League last month.