Three hundred and fifty one players across 10 countries will hope to go under the hammer for a maximum of 116 slots open during the Indian Premier League’s 2016 Player Auction, to be held in Bengaluru on February 6. The 351-player list, including the base price opted by the player himself, was finalised by the IPL governing council during its meeting on Sunday. The mini-auction, as is the case this year, is usually a sedate affair with a couple of big international signings.
However, that’s not the case this time around. With the two new franchises coming on board as replacements for suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the mini-auction is set to be a glitzy affair with the inclusion of 40 players from the suspended teams. To add to the zeal, the fact that some of the established teams have released star players has made the auction all the more exciting.
Leading the pack at the start of the auction as marquee players will be India speedster Ishant Sharma, Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, England batting genius Kevin Pietersen and Yuvraj Singh, the 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament who is now being tried out as a T20 specialist.
All the four cricketers have opted for the base price of Rs 2 crore, the highest option given to a player. Besides the quartet, eight others – Stuart Binny, Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, Ashish Nehra and Dhawal Kulkarni (India); Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson and Michael Hussey (Australia) – have preferred Rs 2 crore as their base price.
The marquee players’ line-up will be completed by South Africa speed sensation Dale Steyn (Rs 1.5 crore) who was surprisingly released by Sunrisers Hyderabad, Australia opening batsman Aaron Finch (Rs 1 crore), New Zealand opener Martin Guptill and West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Smith (Rs 50 lakh each).
Among the Indians, it will be interesting to see if one of the lesser-known domestic players hits a jackpot the way Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer and Karnataka’s K.C. Cariappa did last year. Despite fetching Rs 2.4 crore last year, Cariappa has put the lowest base price of Rs 10 lakh after being released by Kolkata Knight Riders.
351: Number of players registered for the auction.
Players from each country: India 230, Australia 38, West Indies 23, South Africa 20, Sri Lanka 16, New Zealand 10, England 7, Bangladesh, 5 Canada 1, Ireland 1.
116: Maximum number of players, including 36 overseas players, who can be signed for the auction.
Number of slots open per team: Delhi Daredevils 14 (including 4 overseas); Kings XI Punjab 13 (5); Kolkata Knight Riders 12 (3); Mumbai Indians 8 (3); Rising Pune Supergiants 22 (7); Royal Challengers Bangalore 13 (4); Sunrisers Hyderabad 12 (4); Team Rajkot 22 (6).
Auction purse available per team: Delhi Daredevils Rs 37.15 crore; Kings XI Punjab Rs 23 crore; Kolkata Knight Riders Rs 17.95 crore; Mumbai Indians Rs 14.405 crore; Rising Pune Supergiants Rs 27 crore; Royal Challengers Bangalore Rs 21.625 crore; Sunrisers Hyderabad Rs 30.15 crore; Team Rajkot Rs 27 crore.
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