IPL 2021 auction: Mitchell Starc opts out, S Sreesanth enlists himself among 1097 players set to go under the hammer

Chennai: As many as 1097 players have registered for the much- awaited IPL auction to be held on 18 February with most entries coming from the West Indies (56) followed by Australia (42) and South Africa (38). The player registration deadline closed on Thursday and the list comprises 207 international players including 21 capped Indians. Twenty seven players will represent the associate nations and 863 uncapped cricketers, including 743 Indians and 68 overseas. A report in ESPNCricinfo stated that Australia pacer Mitchell Starc and England Test skipper Joe Root had opted out of the auction, while Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and former India pacer S Sreesanth were included for the event. Sreesanth last played in the IPL in 2013, before he was banned from cricketing activities for his role in the IPL spot-fixing scandal that year. The number of uncapped Indians who have played at least one IPL game stands at 50 and two for overseas uncapped players. “If every franchise were to have the maximum of 25 players in their squad, 61 players will be taken in the auction (of which up to 22 may be overseas players),” read the IPL statement on Friday. The auction, scheduled a day after the second Test between India and England, will start at 3 pm local time. Kings XI Punjab go into the auction with the biggest purse available at with Rs 53.20 crore, followed by RCB (Rs 35.90 crore), RR (Rs 34.85 crore), CSK (Rs 22.90 crore), MI (Rs 15.35 crore), DC (Rs 12.9 crore) and Rs 10.75 crore each for KKR and SRH. The 2020 edition was held in the UAE due to the pandemic but the upcoming edition is likely to be played in India. Top Australian draws like Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell were released from Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab respectively on the last day of the retention deadline on 20 January. The other notable names to be released were Chris Morris, Harbhajan Singh and Aaron Finch. A total of 139 players were retained by the franchises and 57 players were releases. Country-wise breakdown of 283 overseas players who have registered: Afghanistan (30), Australia (42), Bangladesh (5), England (21), Ireland (2), Nepal (8), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (29), Scotland (7), South Africa (38), Sri Lanka (31), UAE (9), USA (2), West Indies (56), Zimbabwe (2). With inputs from PTI