Mired in controversies but lucrative nonetheless, the Indian Premier League will conduct its seventh players' auction here tomorrow with some of the biggest global and Indian stars going under the hammer alongside uncapped players for the first time.
The justice Mudgal Committee report on corruption in the league might have come as a huge embarrassment for both the players and franchises but that is unlikely to affect the multi-million dollar auction in which 514 players -- 219 of them uncapped -- are up for sale.
The report, which has found BBCI President N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan to be involved in betting and passing team information, was presented to the Supreme Court yesterday, raising questions on CSK's continuance in the cash-rich League. The court, however, has allowed the auctions to go ahead.
Controversial England batsman Kevin Pietersen will be one of the first players to go under the hammer along with senior India discards Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh in the two-day auction here.
But the biggest draw of IPL VII auction would be without doubt New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson, who has been slotted at No 83 in the 10th set which has the second array of international all-rounders.
Among the 219 capped players, who have played some form of international cricket, 169 are Indians while 50 are overseas players. This will also be the first time in IPL's history that uncapped players will be auctioned.
The cricketers have been divided into 53 sets with each lists ranging from eight to 10 players. The first list that consists of some of the biggest stars of Indian and international cricket named as Marquee 1 or M1.
While Pietersen's international career may have come to an abrupt end, but the maverick England batsman will be in demand as he is set to be the fourth player to be auctioned on the first day at the ITC Gardenia.
Along with Pietersen, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, David Warner, Ashes hero Mitchell Johnson, Mahela Jayawardene, and the recently-retired Jacques Kallis will also go under the hammer at the first go. Murali Vijay is also present in M1 list where all players have a base price of Rs 2 crore save Warner (Rs 1.5 crore).
