Indian Premier League Auction 2016: Ten Talking Points Ahead of Battle

Indian Premier League auction 2016 will see interesting picks as two new teams - Rajkot-based Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants - will join the race along with six others, to cash-in on some of the biggest names in international cricket. (IPL Auction 2016: Yuvraj Singh, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen Among Hot Picks - Five Things to Know)

Place & time: Bengaluru, 9am (February 6)

No. of players in auction: 351 (230 Indians). Each of the eight teams must have a minimum squad size of 16, and a maximum of 27. Franchises can have a maximum of nine overseas players.

Purse for each of the eight teams: The franchises cannot spend more than Rs 66 crore each. However, the purse remaining with the franchises is determined by the number of players retained, and picked from the draft, of the two new teams.

Money left with each team (after player retention): Delhi Daredevils have the highest purse left at Rs 37.15 crore, while Mumbai Indians have the lowest at Rs 14.10 crore.

Others franchises' purse are as follows - Sunrisers Hyderabad (Rs 30.15 crore), Gujarat Lions (Rs 27 crore), Rising Pune Supergiants (Rs 27 crore), Kings XI Punjab (Rs 23 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs 21.62 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders (Rs 17.95 crore) (IPL 2016 Players Draft: MS Dhoni Picked Up by Pune, Suresh Raina Goes to Rajkot)

Players' base price: The highest base price of players has been set at Rs 2 crore and lowest base price Rs 10 lakh.

Marquee players: Ishant Sharma (Base price: Rs 2 crore), Ashish Nehra (Rs 2 crore), Shane Watson (Rs 2 crore), Kevin Pietersen (Rs 2 crore), Yuvraj Singh (Rs 2 crore), Dale Steyn (Rs 1.5 crore), Aaron Finch (RS 1 crore), Martin Guptill (Rs 50 lakh) and Dwayne Smith (Rs 50 lakh) (IPL Auction: Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen in Rs.2 Crore Pool)

Players outside marquee list to have Rs 2 crore base price: Michael Hussey, Dhawal Kulkarni, Kane Richardson, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik, Stuart Binny and Mitchell Marsh

Possible surprise picks: All franchises would be keen on picking up the likes of Barinder Sran and Mustafizur Rahman post their impressive performances at the international scene. Sran was impressive in the India's recently concluded Australian tour. Mustafizur, meanwhile, has had a cracking start to his international career post his show against India. 

Tenure of contract: Player bought at the 2016 auction will have a one-year contract, with the franchise having the option to extend the term for one more year.

Capped players from each ICC full member (Top five): Australia (29), India (26), West Indies (20) South Africa (18), Sri Lanka (16)