Wellington, Jan 15 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya has said Daniel Vettori was the ideal replacement for RCB's retired skipper Anil Kumble, and added that he "kept a little back" to secure the New Zealand captain amid the auction frenzy.
Mallya said: "Anil Kumble, who was our captain and the specialist spinner in the side, decided to join us as chief mentor, so I was looking for a quality spinner who could also bat."
Mallya, who was on a flying visit to Christchurch yesterday, said he was delighted to have the experienced all-rounder's services for the 2011 IPL, Stuff.co.nz reports.
He said it was bargain to buy Vettori for 550,000 dollars at last week's IPL auction. "I bought many of my players early, before the auction really started warming up," he said.
"When Vettori's turn came, everybody had already spent so much money on the Indian players. I kept a little back, so I had the money to grab him," he said.
Mallya said it was unfortunate that Bangalore's two Kiwi cricketers from last season, Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder, could not be retained.
Rajasthan Royals bought Taylor for one million dollar and Pune Warriors picked up Ryder for 150,000 dollar in the second phase of the auction after he attracted no bids in the first phase 24 hours earlier. (ANI)
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