IPL 2021: 292 players to go under the hammer in the player auction

A total of 292 players are set to go under the hammer in the mini-auction on Feb. 18 ahead of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Thursday.

According to the press release, 1,114 cricketers initially had registered for the auction. The final list was drafted after the eight franchises submitted their shortlist of players.

"A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players and 3 players from Associate Nations will be up for grabs in the VIVO IPL 2021 Player Auction in Chennai.

INR 2 crore is the highest reserve price and two Indian players – Harbhajan Singh and Kedar Jadhav – and eight overseas players – Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Shakib Al Hasan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy & Mark Wood have chosen to be slotted in the highest bracket," the press release read.

While 12 players have been listed with a base price of INR 1.5 crore, Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav are the two players in the list of 11 cricketers who have been listed with a base price of INR 1 crore.

List of Capped Players as per their base price:

Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians are the defending champions after they won the title for a record fifth time last year. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the BCCI was forced to shift the 14th edition of the IPL to UAE the last term, but the Indian cricket board has assured that IPL 2021 will be held in India.

It was earlier reported that BCCI has earmarked three stadiums for IPL 2021: Wankhede, Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, and Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), Pune. IPL 2021 is expected to begin around April 6 and the final could be played either on June 5 or 6, according to news reports.