Australian pace sensation Mitchell Johnson has reportedly been included among the 31 players who have attracted the highest base price of around 320,000 US dollars for next month's Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
Organisers have announced a 233-strong auction list of capped players, which has been distributed to the eight franchises.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Johnson's Australian Test teammates Brad Haddin and Steve Smith, along with England batting star Kevin Pietersen, are also in the 31-man group, which has 10 Australians including Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Australian T20 skipper George Bailey.
However, the report mentioned that some of the game's biggest names including Australian Test captain Michael Clarke, England paceman Stuart Broad and Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara have not nominated for the IPL auction, which will be held in Bangalore on February 12 and 13.
First-timers include New Zealand's Corey Anderson who has a 36-ball one-day international hundred to his credit, while Pakistan-born Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed has also been nominated alongside Brad Hogg, the report added.
