The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has witnessed a whopping 1122 players signing up to be a part of the Indian T20 league in 2018 ahead of the Player Auction, which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on January 27-28.
The IPL player registration closed on Friday, which saw 281 capped players, 838 uncapped, 778 Indians and three players from the Associate nations featured in the list that was sent out to the eight IPL franchises. Over 282 overseas players have registered their names in the IPL auction.
The last ten seasons have witnessed many overseas players participating in the Indian cash-rich T20 league, in which many have gone to lead a few franchises such as Steve Smith and David Warner. However, this time a fierce bidding war is expected as many Indian stars such as Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav are expected go under the hammer at the auctions.
This time England Test captain Joe Root has thrown in his hat into the ring as he becomes a new entrant in the Indian Premier League.
International stars such as Chris Gayle, Chris Lynn, Eoin Morgan, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and many more overseas cricketers would join after their ongoing commitments. Ben Stokes, who had the highest bidding in the 10th season, was bought for a massive price of Rs 14.5 crore last season and will be under the radar once again this time.
Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis and Jason Holder will add the Caribbean flavor to the auction.
Hashim Amla, who hit two centuries for Kings XI Punjab in the 10th season, will be hoping for a high bid with compatriots Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller and speedsters Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.
Kane Williamson, Colin Munro and Tom Latham from New Zealand will add the Kiwi charm.
Afghanistan, too, will see 13 players along with eight from Bangladesh, two from Ireland, seven from Zimbabwe and two from the USA.
Taking the recent performances into consideration, players from New Zealand, Australia and England have turned up in large numbers this time and they will all go down to the wire when the auction begins.
Surprisingly, players from USA, Scotland, Ireland and Afghanistan have also registered their names for the cash-rich league and this time, we may get to witness a diverse range of players from around the globe.
(Read about the IPL Players Retention)
Here's a list of a country-wise breakdown of 282 overseas players.
Afghanistan- 13
Australia - 58
Bangladesh - 8
England - 26
Ireland - 2
New Zealand - 30
Scotland - 1
South Africa - 57
Sri Lanka - 39
USA - 2
West Indies - 39
Zimbabwe - 7
(With PTI Inputs)
