Black Caps wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum was snapped up by his old club for a cool $US$900,000 ($NZ1.1 million) in the IPL player auction at the weekend.
The Kolkata Knight Riders won a bidding war with the Rajasthan Royals to secure the hard-hitting opening batsman's services.
The Otago twenty/20 captain played for the Knight Riders from 2008-10 and set the tournament alight with an unbeaten 158 against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the competition's inaugural game.
McCullum, whose base price was set at $US400,000, played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala last season. The Tuskers are now defunct.
Fellow New Zealander Doug Bracewell was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for his base price of $US50,000. Black Caps all-rounder Jacob Oram had a stint with the Rajasthan Royals last season and New Zealand team-mate Tim Southee played for the Chennai Super Kings.
Both players went unsold.
Jesse Ryder will return to play for the Pune Warriors and James Franklin will front for the Mumbai Indians.
But the big winner was Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. He attracted the maximum bid of $US2 million from the Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers. Chennai Super Kings eventually won the battle, paying an undisclosed amount.
