Former India batter Robin Uthappa was brought home by Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction for Rs 2 crore. Uthappa is 36 years of age but played a major role in CSK winning the IPL 2021 title.


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In 4 matches in IPL 2021, Uthappa scored 115 runs at a strike-rate of 136.9, including a crucial 63 against Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1. However, Uthappa now feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should consider bringing an end to the auction as cricketer feel like ‘cattle’ being traded.


“Playing for a team like CSK was something I desired, it was one of my only prayers: let’s get back to CSK. My family, even my son, prayed for that, which is special for me. I’m happy to be back in a place where there’s a sense of security and a sense of respect. There’s a backing that’s given which makes me feel like I can do anything,” Uthappa told to News9 website.



The former Kolkata Knight Riders batter says that the auction is like an ‘examination’ and one has to wait for a long time for the results. It’s like being compared to a commodity.


“The auction feels like an examination which you have written a long time ago, and you’re just awaiting the results. You feel like cattle, to be honest,” he said. “It’s not the most pleasing feeling, and I think that’s the thing about cricket, especially in India… everything about you is there for the world to consume and then judge and express their opinions about it. Having an opinion about performances is one thing, but having an opinion on how much you get sold for is quite something else,” he said.


Uthappa, who has score 4,722 in 193 IPL matches in his career at a strike-rate of over 130, says that it is defeating sometimes, when a player goes unsold and it seems like that the value of that cricketer has gone down all of a sudden.


“You can’t imagine what the guys who don’t get sold go through. It cannot be pleasant. My heart goes out to guys who have been there for a long time and then miss out and don’t get picked. It can be defeating sometimes. Suddenly your value as a cricketer becomes about how much somebody is willing to spend on you, and it’s so haphazard… there is no method to the madness,” he added.