London: The eye-popping sums fetched by England all rounders Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction on Friday shows India's economy is bucking the global downturn, British media said.
The Indian economy expects to grow by around seven to eight percent this year, and the IPL auction is evidence that the credit crunch has not hit India in the way it has affected the British economy, BBC television reported.
Pietersen and Flintoff were snapped up for $1.55 million each by Bangalore Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings.
England teammates Ravi Bopara went to Kings XI Punjab for $450,000, while Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah were both bought by Delhi Daredevils for $275,000 each.
However, UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya, owner of Bangalore Royal Challengers, told a BBC correspondent he was prepared to pay up to two million dollars for Pietersen, one of world cricket's most talented and explosive batsmen.
England players missed out on the inaugural IPL tournament last year on account of clashing schedules and a failed attempt by the English board to set up a rival championship.
The English board was forced to lift a ban on its players participating in the IPL after players revolted and an alternative Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean suffered from poor publicity.
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