Bengaluru: Indian Premier League (IPL) auctioneer Hugh Edmeades on Sunday said that he is absolutely fine and expressed his gratitude to renowned commentator Charu Sharma, who took over the baton after he collapsed on Day 1 of the auction.
"I am very sorry that I am not available in person today. As you can see I am absolutely fine, but I felt that I won't be able to give you a 100 per cent performance which is unfair to the BCCI, the IPL and to the bidders. It also would be unfair to the players," he said in a video message here.
Edmeades thanked all those around the world who sent good wishes from places like New Zealand and Kilimanjaro. "I am very grateful to Charu for stepping in at such a short notice and taking the baton. The show must go on. I hope to see you later on, but in the meantime over to you Charu and good luck to your bidding today," he said.
Edmeades, the original IPL auctioneer from England, fell off the dais due to Postural Hypotension and he was immediately attended by the medical team present at the event. The English auctioneer was replaced by Charu, who lives near the venue where the auction was being conducted.
After rushing to the venue on the request of IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, he prepared himself for the event in just about 15 minutes. At the end of the day, he received plaudits from the franchises and other attendees at the venue and also from across the world for doing a brilliant job at a very short notice.
Fortunately, Charu had prior experience in auctioning, but not for as big an event as IPL auction, which he did concede that it was a different ball game. Perhaps this was the most challenging assignment Charu ever had in his entire 40 years of his professional career. (UNI)
