350 international cricketers up for IPL bids

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set for a fresh start for its fourth edition as some 350 cricketers will go under the hammer for two days in the auction starting Saturday.

After a season plagued by allegations of financial irregularities and court controversies, that also saw the sacking of IPL founder Lalit Modi, this time 10 franchises will be seen in action during the auction.

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara and England’s Ashes hero pacer James Anderson are expected to be the to draws in the auction and are among the 21 with the highest reserve price of USD 400,000 for a three-year contract.

Australians Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee, England’s Kevin Pietersen, South Africans Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori are also expected to go for millions of dollars.

There are those who have been retained as well and that small list of 12 includes Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumba Indians) and Shane Warne and Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals).

In fact, only Chennai, the 2010 champions, and runners-up Mumbai Indians have retained the full compliment of players.

By retaining four players, the two franchises are each left with only $4.5 million to spend either in the auction or in buying Ranji players outside the auction.

Rajasthan Royals have $5.9 million available while Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will each have a balance of $7.2 million available. The remaining franchises have the full $9 million available to spend.

Pakistani cricketers will not be a part of the event for the third season in a row.

There were some high-profile pullouts as well with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson opting to rest and recover after playing through a gruelling international schedule.

Veteran Indian spinner Anil Kumble also opted out and will now be seen in a mentoring role for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Yusuf Pathan, who was surprisingly not retained by Rajasthan Royals, looks good to break all records. He could be signed up as the highest-paid player in the history of the tournament.

Besides Yusuf, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir will also be among the top draw.