(Image source from: Vijay Mallya buys Yuvraj Singh for whopping 14 crores)

Vijay Mallya is making headlines again and obviously, for the wrong reasons?

The beleaguered Kingfisher chief has splurged a king's ransom - an extravagant 14 crore - on Yuvraj Singh in the first day of the IPL auction, a decision that is likely to offend Kingfisher Airlines employees, who haven't been paid their dues for18 months now.

While the left-hander batsman was the most expensive player to go under the hammer on day 1 of the IPL auction, considering his current form and fitness, wonder if Yuvraj is worth all that much cash.

Besides, Mallya has been in financial mess himself. KFA is running under huge debts and has not been able to pay salaries since August 2012.

The gargantuan debt, however, did not deter the tycoon from frittering a hefty amount for a player whose best days are over.

If fate would have it, the Royal Challengers Bangalore could have acquired Yuvraj for a substantially lesser price. But the drama that ensued during the auction ensured that Yuvi went for a hefty deal.

Auctioneer Richard Madley had almost closed the deal for Bangalore at Rs 10 crore before Kolkata Knight Riders pitched in.

After another round of intense bidding, Royal Challengers Bangalore bagged Yuvi for a whopping 14 crores.

KFA employees are not excited by Wednesday's developments.

"It is ridiculous that Vijay Mallya has no money to pay his Kingfisher staff but is splurging this kind of obscene money on one cricketer in the IPL," said former KFA pilot Saravdeep Mann.

"I was forced to leave Kingfisher in October 2012 and my salary is still pending. I am lucky I found a job but there are still so many pilots, flight stewards, air hostesses and ground staff who are jobless. This kind of money being wasted on IPL is not justified," said Mann.

But the news is that Mallya paid for Yuvraj from his own pocket, and not from KFA coffers.

Besides Yuvraj, the other big gainer in the auction was wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who went down foor Rs 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury