Shane Bond was back in the nets just hours after being snapped up by KKR for the maximum price of USD 750,000 in the IPL auction.

The 34-year-old fast bowler watched the auction unfold via the internet in Christchurch, then had a "quiet beer" followed by some champagne after the Kolkata Knight Riders outbid the Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers to claim his services for the third edition of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

"It was unbelievable. I was just hoping to get picked up and had been relaxed all day. But once I sat down to watch it I got a little bit nervous," he said.

"I had the good or the bad (situation) of watching half-a-dozen guys go before me and some guys missed out and some did well. I had no idea what was going to happen. I'm just pleased it turned out well."

Kolkata only entered the bidding at $640,000 and once the price had reached the maximum the "tiebreaker" bid between themselves and Deccan was cast behind closed doors.

"I was already celebrating once it got all the way the up," said Bond of the winning bid.

"The thing for me was just wanting to know who I was playing for. I'm really pleased to be playing for Kolkata and I'm really looking forward to it."

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Bond will join New Zealand teammate Brendon McCullum at the Knight Riders.

"Brendon speaks highly of the franchise.

"I've played a lot of cricket with Baz and we're good mates. It's great to be playing alongside him."

He added: "I'm really looking forward to Eden Gardens.

"I haven't played there. That size crowd and the passion of Indian fans. Kolkata is a very popular franchise so there is a lot of pressure. But to get the opportunity to do that at my stage in my career is brilliant."

Twelve months ago Bond was still in cricketing exile after playing in the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League and he admitted that back then he had never envisaged a return to international cricket or being paid top dollar to play in the IPL.

"I thought I might be doing some normal job by now," he said laughing. "The last year has been great. I've put in a lot of hard work. I suppose last night there was a moment when I sat back and reflected on all the work that I'd done to get back and I suppose I've got rewarded for it.

"Even though things haven't worked out in terms of having this latest injury and having to retire (from Test cricket) there's quiet satisfaction that all that hard work was worth it."

Bond, one of New Zealand's most devastating bowlers, is on his way back from an abdominal tear he suffered in a man-of-the-match display in the first Test against Pakistan in November that finally saw him pull stumps on his Test career late last year.

He is targeting a return to provincial cricket for Canterbury when the one-day competition resumes in early February meaning he is unlikely to feature in the Twenty20 and one-day series against Bangladesh that month.

His primary goal is taking his place in New Zealand's limited over squad for the series against Australia which begins in late February.

"I love playing the Aussies, especially playing them at home. It's always a huge series and always followed massively," he said.

"That's my main focus really. I'll worry about the IPL once the Aussie series is done.

"The IPL is going to be a great competition and it also gives me great cricket before the T20 World Cup as well. I'm just pleased that for the next few months I've got a real nice run of cricket."

Bond's fellow New Zealanders, Lou Vincent, Grant Elliott and Nathan McCullum all missed out.

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