IPL 2014 auctions: 10 things to know as players go under the hammer
The seventh edition of the Indian Premier League promises to be an action-packed tournament. As teams get set to plan their squads and outbid each other before they outplay each other, here's a look at 10 important facts of IPL auctions 2014.
No. 1: For the first time, the players will be valued in Indian rupees during the player auction instead of the US dollars which was used in the first six seasons.
No. 2: For the first time in the history of IPL player auction, even uncapped Indian players will be auctioned. This is also expected to be the longest auctions - in terms of duration. The first of two days will begin at 0930 hrs (IST) and will go on till approximately 1800 hrs (IST)
No. 3: As many as 514 players will go under the hammer - 219 capped (169 Indian and 50 overseas) and 292 uncapped (255 Indian and 37 overseas).
No.4: The list of 50 overseas players also includes two Associate Nation cricketers -- Niall O'Brien from Ireland and Ryan ten Doeschate from Netherlands.
No. 5: Among the 219 capped players, 46 Indians have been valued at top base price of Rs 2 crore each.
No. 6: List of players valued the highest (at Rs 2 crore each): Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, M Vijay, George Bailey, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Marlon Samuels.
No.7: The salary cap for each franchise has been set at Rs. 60 crores, with an increase of 5% each year for 2015 and 2016.
No. 8: The Indian players will be paid in Indian currency while the overseas players will be paid in the currency of their choice at the prevailing exchange rate on the date of payment or due date of contract.
No. 9: In terms of player retention, each franchise was allowed to retain five players from their previous year's squad. A total of 24 players were retained by the eight franchises.
No. 10: The Joker Card - According to this feature, a team can bring back a player who was part of its franchise last year but wasn't one of the players retained by them. A team can exercise this option the moment a particular player is deemed 'sold' to another franchise. Once the player is 'sold', the auctioneer will give the old franchise a chance to use their 'right-to-match' option, by which they can bring back the player with a matching bid amount.