Michael Clarke opts out of IPL auction to lighten 'workload'

Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has opted out of the Indian Premier League auction Feb 12 and has decided to take a four-month break following his team's tour of South Africa next month.

Clark leaves for South Africa with the Test squad on Wednesday after a busy summer at home where they regained the Ashes and then piled up misery on England by winning the one-day series 4-1.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday that Clarke has followed his teammate Ryan Harris in giving a miss to the potentially lucrative IPL-7 contract. He wants to lighten his workload ahead of the World Cup and Ashes in England next year.

Clarke does not play T20 Internationals but he was likely to create interest amongst the teams at the auction.

He played in the 2012 IPL for the now defunct Pune Warriors and was set to stay there for the subsequent season until a flared up back injury pushed him out of the reckoning.

The Australian cricketers, however, will be feature heavily in the auction with tearaway Mitchell Johnson to be the most sought after buy.

The in-form Johnson was surprisingly not retained by the Mumbai Indians.