The Indian Premier League (IPL) Player Registration closed on Friday, with a whopping 1,122 players signing up to be a part of the mega Player Auction 2018, which is slated to take place in Bengaluru later this month.
The list that has been sent out to the eight IPL franchises comprises of 281 capped players, 838 uncapped players, including 778 Indians and three players from the Associate nations.
Out of 282 overseas players, Australia lead the country-wise breakdown with 58 registered cricketers followed by South Africa (57), Sri Lanka (39) , West Indies (39), New Zealand (30) and England (26).
A fierce bidding war is expected to break out when Indian stars Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, off spinners R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and M Vijay go under the hammer.
The franchises will leave no stone unturned when Chris Gayle, Ben Stokes, Chris Lynn, Eoin Morgan and pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins come up for the IPL Player Auction 2018.
England's Test captain Joe Root has also thrown his hat into the ring and will be the new entrant to the world's most popular T20 league.
Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis and Jason Holder will add the Caribbean flavor to the league.
Lasith Malinga will lead Sri Lanka's entourage that includes Angelo Mathews, the exciting Niroshan Dickwella, and Thisara Perera.
Showing his full range of strokes will be Glenn Maxwell, all-rounder Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson, who bowled Mumbai Indians to their third title last season with his final over heroics.
Hashim Amla, who hit two centuries for Kings XI Punjab in the 10th season will be hoping for a high bid with compatriots Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller and speedsters Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.
Kane Williamson, Colin Munro and Tom Latham from New Zealand will add their charm to the league.
The player auction for the 2018 edition of the IPL will be held on January 27 and 28, while the main event will take place from April 4 to May 31.
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