Fifty-four Aussies set for IPL auction

More than fifty Australian cricketers will be hoping for a bumper payday later this week, with the full list of available players for the upcoming Indian Premier League auction revealed by the BCCI.

The BCCI has released the names of the 578 hopefuls, including 54 Australians, who will go under the hammer this weekend.

While the IPL auction has long been the most lucrative day on the cricketing calendar, this year's event has been dubbed a 'mega auction' after competition rules dictated that clubs release all but a handful of their players from last year.

And with a new broadcast rights deal worth $AUD 3.2 billion signed ahead of this year's tournament, the salary cap has increased by 20 per cent.

It means this year's auction is likely to see some astonishing sums doled out for big-name players.

Australia's Test captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner have already been retained Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively, with both penning deals worth INR 12 crore (approximately $AUD 2.4 million) - the most lucrative T20 contracts ever offered to Australian players.

India skipper Virat Kohli has also been retained by his side Royal Challengers Bangalore and is set to pocket $AUD 3.4 million (INR 17 crore), the biggest price tag in IPL history.

But that mark could be eclipsed this weekend, with the likes of international stars Mitchell Starc, Ben Stokes, Chris Gayle, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Chris Lynn, as well as Indian guns Ravi Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh all up for grabs.

Players have been divided into eight categories with varying reserve prices for the auction, starting at $AUD 39,200 for the lowest category up to $392,400 for the blue-chip players.

Of the 12 players to help Australia regain the urn in the recent Magellan Ashes series, only allrounder Mitchell Marsh (who's pulled out of the IPL to play county cricket with Surrey), wicketkeeper Tim Paine, opener Cameron Bancroft and reserve quick Jackson Bird have not put in for the auction or been retained.

Test quicks Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood along with KFC Big Bash League stars Lynn and Glenn Maxwell have all set their reserve price at the highest mark, while the likes of Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Peter Handscomb, Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja filter through the next few highest rungs.

And while the bidding on BBL sensation D'Arcy Short will start at the lowest figure, just under $AUD 40,000, Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting has tipped the powerful opener to attract significant interest from multiple teams.

Of the 578 auction hopefuls, 62 have played for India, 298 are uncapped Indians, 182 have played international cricket for other countries, 34 are uncapped international players and two (including Afghanistan and Adelaide Strikers star leggie Rashid Khan) are from associate nations.

"A lot of strategising and number-crunching is involved before a cricketer is picked at the VIVO IPL Player Auction,” IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said.

"The dynamic nature of the auction makes it unpredictable and exciting."

The two-day auction gets underway on Saturday in Bengaluru.

AUSTRALIANS UP FOR GRABS AT THE IPL AUCTION
(with reserve price listed)

$392,400 (INR 200 lakhs)
Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Lynn, James Faulkner, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Cameron White.

$294,300 (INR 150 lakhs)
Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Moises Henriques, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon, Michael Klinger, Peter Handscomb.

$196,200 (INR 100 lakhs)
Shane Watson, Adam Zampa, Dan Christian, Ben Cutting, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye.

$147,200 (INR 75 lakhs)
Usman Khawaja, Peter Siddle

$98,100 (INR 50 lakhs)
Fawad Ahmed, Joe Burns, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, John Hastings, Ben Laughlin, Billy Stanlake, Michael Beer, Sean Abbott, Joel Paris, Jhye Richardson, Scott Boland, Ben Hilfenhaus.

$78,500 (INR 40 lakhs)
Tom Cooper, Mitchell Swepson, Michael Neser

$58,900 (INR 30 lakhs)
Ben McDermott, Alex Carey, Daniel Hughes, Alex Ross

$39,200 (INR 20 lakhs)
D’Arcy Short, Ben Dwarshuis, Chris Green, Marcus Harris, Aaron Summers, Arjun Nair, Jack Wildermuth, Ryan Ninan, Cameron Gannon.

**(All monetary figures are approximate conversions)