IPL 2017 Auction
Venue: Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Bengaluru
Starts at: 9pm
On TV: Sony Six and Sony Six HD
Live streaming: Hotstar.com
Attention will shift to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Bengaluru on Monday where the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction of cricket players from around the world will take place.
Auctions of players will be held from 9am. A total of 352 players will be up for grabs in the auction out of an original pool of 799 (which was shortened after consultation with the eight franchises). There are as many as 122 international players, including six players from Associate nations (five from Afghanistan and one from UAE).
The list of the teams taking part in the auction (along with their buying purse) are as follows:
Kings XI Punjab - Rs 23.35 crore
Delhi Daredevils - Rs 21.5 crore
Sunrisers Hyderabad - Rs 20.9 crore
Kolkata Knight Riders - Rs 19.75 crore
Royal Challengers Bangalore - Rs 17.825 crore
Rising Pune Supergiants - Rs 17.50 crore
Gujarat Lions - Rs 14.35 crore
Mumbai Indians - Rs 11.555 crore
All eyes will be on career auctioneer Richard Madley, popularly referred to in cricket circles as the "Hammerman" as he presides over bids and bargains initiated by eight participating IPL franchisees.
This year's auction will attract more interest as eight England cricketers- Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills are among the 352 players who have placed themselves up for auction among the eight franchises that will take part in the seven-week-long tournament that begins from April 5.
Madley, who has been involved with the IPL auctions since 2008, has acquired a huge reputation for improving the incomes of cricketers the world over, and speculation is rife that Stokes may end up being the next new IPL cricketer millionaire.
Fifty-nine-year-old Madley will be taking part in his 10th IPL auction, and with an expected television audience of more than 100 million, he could end up providing a massive income boost for 28 of the 121 overseas players that will make the grade.
All-rounders Stokes and Woakes are in the highest bracket of Rs.2 crores, as is Eoin Morgan. Jonny Bairstow will start at Rs. 1.5 crore, while Alex Hales and his international opening partner Roy both begin at Rs. 1 crore.
Stokes' reputation has soared during England`s winter tour of India, and the best-placed Englishman after him is probably T20 specialist Mills, who comes in with a reserve price of Rs 50 lakh.
(Inputs from ANI)
