IPL 2021 mini-auction: BCCI prune list to 292, Arjun Tendulkar in all-rounder category

A total of 1194 cricketers had registered their names for the mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021 which will take place in Chennai on February 18. Out of those, the eight franchises shortlisted 292 cricketers who will be put up for auction next Thursday. 

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav, along with Australians Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, have been bracketed in the Rs 2 crore -- highest base price category for the upcoming IPL auction. 

“The IPL 2021 Player Auction list is out with a total of 292 cricketers set to go under the hammer in Chennai on February 18th, 2021. 1114 cricketers had initially registered for the auction. The final list was then pruned after the eight franchises submitted their shortlist of players,” BCCI said in a statement. 

The 292 players who will go under the hammer with 61 slots in eight franchises up for grabs. The IPL governing council has pruned the list of players. A total of 164 Indian players, 125 overseas players and three from associate nations have been enlisted for the auctions. 

“12 players are in the auction list with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav are the two Indian players in the list of 11 cricketers with a base price of Rs 1 crore,” the statement added. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore have highest the number of 13 slots available while Sunrisers have only three vacancies. Kings XI Punjab go into the auction with the highest purse (Rs 53.1 crore) while Sunrisers can spend a little less than 11 crore (10.75 crore). CSK will have an interesting auction with a 22.7 crore purse and seven slots to fill. 

Both Harbhajan and Jadhav were released by Chennai Super Kings this year. The notable name missing from the auction was former India paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. The Kerala paceman had returned to first-class after his life ban for spot-fixing in the IPL was lifted by the Supreme Court. 

Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun, a left-arm fast bowler, has also been included in the pruned list in the ‘all-rounder’ category, in the lowest base price category of Rs 20 lakh. 

Apart from Maxwell and Smith, other overseas recruits in the highest base price category included Shakib-al-Hasan, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy and Mark Wood. 

The auction will start at 15:00 hours IST. 

Auction purse: 

Chennai Super Kings: Rs 19.9 crore 

Delhi Capitals: Rs 13.4 crore 

Kings XI Punjab: Rs 53.2 crore 

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rs 10.75 crore 

Mumbai Indians: Rs 15.35 crore 

Rajasthan Royals: Rs 37.85 crore 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Rs 35.4 crore 

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Rs 10.75 crore

(with PTI inputs)