Remember Hugh Edmeades? The same auctioneer who had fallen on the stage in IPL 2022 mega auction. He had collapsed due to poor health but had returned to take over the duties the next day. He was quickly replaced by Charu Sharma on the first day who had done a splendid job during a crisis. Edmeades was back as auctioneer in IPL 2023 auction in Kochi as well. However, as per reports, he is set to be replaced by an Indian. The auctioneer who is likely to replace Edmeades is Mallika Sagar.
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Mallika is not new to this profession. She is a seasoned auctioneer like Edmeades. According to a report in Sportstar, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already informed Edmeades that his services will not be required for the upcoming auction. The report also states that BCCI has reached out to Mallika with an offer to take over auction proceedings on December 19 in Dubai but she has not confirmed the same so far.
Mallika was the auctioneer at the Women’s Premier Legaue auction earlier this year. Sagar will also be donning the cap of the auctioneer at the WPL 2024 auction on December 9 in Mumbai. Sagar, an auctioneer at Pundole’s in Mumbai, commenced her career at Christie’s in 2001 after obtaining her art history degree from Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia. Notably, she became the first auctioneer of Indian origin and the first woman in that role at Christie’s.
Mallika Sagar likely to be the auctioneer for #IPL2024 Auction in Dubai. pic.twitter.com/03cXvp9rNW
— Cric Point (@RealCricPoint) December 4, 2023
Sagar has also looked over the auction of Pro Kabaddi League in 2021, becoming the first woman to conduct the auctions.
Coming to Edmeades, he had taken over as official auctioneer of IPL in 2018 as Richard Madley passed on the baton tom him. In 2022 Mega Auction, he collapsed on the floor while auctioning in the Ballroom of the Bengaluru hotel. He was immediately taken to a hospital. The reason for his collapse was due to ‘postural hypotension’.
Edmeades specialises in fine art, classic cars, and charity auctions, spent 38 years affiliated with the prestigious Christie’s before venturing into an independent career in 2016. He travelled to Jaipur in 2018 to conduct his first IPL auction. He had conducted over 2500 auctions before that but none in cricket.
Source: Zee News