Who is Mallika Sagar, the IPL’s first female auctioneer?
Al Jazeera
Sagar is set to break new ground as the first female auctioneer to wield the gavel at the IPL 2024 auction.
Mumbai, India – Mallika Sagar’s introduction to the world of auctioneering came when, as a teenager in her hometown Mumbai, she read a book with a female auctioneer as its protagonist.
“And, perhaps, a bit frivolously, I thought: ‘That’s what I want to be,’” she recollects with a chuckle.
Three decades on, Sagar finds herself at the helm of making history.
After a successful 23-year career in art auctioneering, she is set to become the first female auctioneer at the richest franchise cricket league in the world when she takes the stage at the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
More than 300 cricketers will go under the hammer during the daylong event, which will be a breakaway from a trend that has seen only men – Welshman Richard Madley, Briton Hugh Edmeades and India’s Charu Sharma – spearhead the event.
