The Indian Premier League (IPL) bandwagon is all set to roll into motion with dates set for the player auctions next month, base prices being decided for marquee players and discussions being held over the feasibility of relocation to the UAE and Bangladesh.

Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen and Yusuf Pathan are among the 37 marquee cricketers who have been listed in the top bracket of 233 cricketers who will go under the hammer on February 12 and 13 (if necessary) when the eight franchises land in Bangalore to buy the players.

The top 37 cricketers - including Sehwag, Yuvraj and others - have been slotted at a base price of Rs 2 crore (approx $320,000).

The list also includes overseas cricketers like Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Mahela Jayawardene, Mitchell Johnson and Marlon Samuels, apart from Pietersen and newcomer Alex Hales (see box).

Some of the notable names missing from the list are Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal, Australian skipper Michael Clarke, Mitchell Marsh, England's Stuart Broad and West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach.

The tournament, sources have confirmed, will begin in the second week of April. However, with the Lok Sabha elections scheduled between April and May, the exact dates are yet to be decided.

It is reliably learnt that the tournament could be shifted to the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh for the first three legs. The last leg and the knockouts will be in India.

Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the Dubai Sports City and the popular Sharjah ground could be slotted as possible venues alongside the Bangabandhu in Dhaka.

UAE, though, does not feature among the 'cleanest' of venues for cricket anymore, one of the key reasons why India does not play in Sharjah. After the problems that the tournament ran into last year, the BCCI is keen not to compromise on the integrity and brand value of the league.

The BCCI will also look to tread with caution before shifting the event abroad as they rubbed the Indian government the wrong way in 2009 when the event was moved to South Africa.

Meanwhile, the spotlight is on the cricketers - both capped and domestic - who are back in the fresh auction pool as franchises await to splurge anywhere between Rs 30 to 60 crore to sign the cricketers for a one-year contract. A total of 46 Indian cricketers form a part of the auction list.

Alex Hales, currently the World No. 1 T20 batsman, along with Corey Anderson, the new Kiwi batting sensation, are also in the top bracket along with the Sehwags and Pietersens.

Base prices of prominent Indian players

(Rs 2 crore): Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Robin Uthappa, Amit Mishra, Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary.

(Rs 1.5 crore): Zaheer Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma.

(Rs 1 crore): Parthiv Patel, Mohit Sharma, Ashoke Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha.


More Stills


Keywords: Indian Premier League ,IPL, marquee players,Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen , Yusuf Pathan , marquee cricketers , Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, Mahela Jayawardene, Mitchell Johnson , Marlon Samuels, Alex Hales, Kumar Sangakkara ,Dinesh Chandimal, Australian skipper Michael Clarke, Mitchell Marsh, England's Stuart Broad , fast bowler Kemar Roach, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Dubai Sports City , Sharjah ground, BCCI, Corey Anderson,Zaheer Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Parthiv Patel, Mohit Sharma, Ashoke Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha