Ten Aussies retained for 2016 IPL

Mitchell Johnson and Glenn Maxwell both had an extra reason to celebrate New Year's Eve last night, with the duo among four Australians retained by their Indian Premier League franchises on million-dollar deals.

Johnson ($1.34 million) and Maxwell ($1.24 million) were both retained by Kings XI Punjab as the eight IPL franchises confirmed their preliminary squads for the 2016 tournament, while David Warner (retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.14 million) and Mitchell Starc (retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.03 million) were the other Aussies retained on million-dollar contracts.

The quartet join Steve Smith and James Faulkner on million-dollar deals for 2016; they were drafted for $1.14 million each by new franchises Pune and Rajkot respectively last month.

A total of 10 Australians were retained by their franchises, with the news a particular boost for Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Moises Henriques, who are all currently sidelined with injury.

Sydney Thunder duo Shane Watson and Mike Hussey are both without a contract after their franchises - Rajasthan and Chennai - were suspended following a corruption scandal. Unlike former Rajasthan duo Smith and Faulkner, Watson and Hussey were not picked up by either Pune or Rajkot last month. They are both expected to enter the auction, to be held on February 6, along with fellow Aussies Kane Richardson, Ben Cutting (both formerly played with Rajasthan) and Andrew Tye (formerly with Chennai).

Australia's T20 captain Aaron Finch was released by Mumbai, while his predecessor George Bailey was also let go by his franchise the Kings XI. A total of 16 Australians were released from their franchises and they have a few weeks to decide if they want to nominate for February’s auction.

On the international front, Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Karthik, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma and Kevin Pietersen were among the big names to be released by their franchises.

Australians in the 2016 IPL (all prices in AUD)

Delhi Daredevils: Nathan Coulter-Nile (retained for $879,000), Travis Head (retained for $62,000)
Kings Punjab XI: Mitch Johnson (retained for $1.34m), Glenn Maxwell (retained for $1.24m), Shaun Marsh (retained for $455,000)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn (retained for $269,000), Brad Hogg (retained for $103,000)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Mitchell Starc (retained for $1.03m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (retained for $1.14m), Moises Henriques (retained for $207,000)
Pune: Steve Smith (drafted for $1.14m)
Rajkot: James Faulkner (drafted for $1.14m)

Released for 2016; option to enter the auction
Shane Watson (Rajasthan) - undisclosed
George Bailey (Kings XI) - was $671,000
Aaron Finch (Mumbai) - was $662,000
Gurinder Sandhu (Delhi) - was $351,000
Mike Hussey (Chennai) - was $310,000
Sean Abbott (Bangalore) - was $207,000)
Pat Cummins (Kolkata) - was $207,000
Ben Hilfenhaus (Mumbai) - was $207,000
Kane Richardson (Rajasthan) - was $207,000
Ben Cutting (Rajasthan) - was $165,000
Josh Hazlewood (Mumbai) - was $103,000
Nic Maddinson (Bangalore) - was $103,000
Aiden Blizzard (Mumbai) - was $62,000
Marcus Stoinis (Delhi) - was $52,000
Andrew Tye (Chennai) - was $41,000