As many as five Australians have declared themselves worthy of INR 2 crore (base price) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 player auction, scheduled for December 19 in Kolkata. (More Cricket News)
The cash-rich T20 league announced on Monday that 971 cricketers, including 713 Indians and 258 overseas players, will be up for grabs at the auction. Of those, 215 are capped and 754 uncapped players. Two cricketers from Associate Nation. They will fight for 73 spots.
According to an espncricinfo.com report, seven players have listed their base price at the maximum of INR 2 crore. And five of them are Australians - Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, and Glenn Maxwell.
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Cummins, 26, was previously associated with Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. Hazlewood, 28, was previously with Mumbai Indians. Lynn, 29, is probably the biggest name available in the auction. He was released by Kolkata Knight Riders. Mitchell Marsh, 28, was previously with Rising Pune Supergiants. Maxwell, 31, is still one of the most sought after cricketers. He was with Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.
Injury-prone South African pacer Dale Steyn, who was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews are the other two players in the top bracket. Mathews was previously with Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders.
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Among Indian players, Robin Uthappa has listed the highest base price at INR 1.5 crore. Uthappa was one of the big-name players released by KKR. Other players in the same base price bracket, according to espncricinfo, are Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Chris Woakes, David Willey. Chris Morris and Kyle Abbott.
Also Read: All You Need To Know About Players' Auction
Surprisingly, Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc has opted out of the IPL for a second successive year. The 29-year-old Starc last featured in the IPL in 2015 when he represented Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In the 2018 IPL auction, the left-arm quick had been signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.4 crore, but was unavailable for the entire tournament because of an injury.
England's Test captain Joe Root is another notable absentee from the auction pool of 971 players.
