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Watson, Yousuf head list for second IPL auction

March 11, 2008 11:28 IST

Australia's Shane Watson and Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul Haq will be among 25 internationals who will figure in a second players' auction of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday.

Eight franchises splashed out millions of dollars in frenzied auction last month to snap up many household names in the game for the officially sanctioned 44-day Twenty20 league, which will start on April 18.

Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Dhoni drew the highest bid of US $1.5 million from Chennai in the first auction, while Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was snapped up for US $1.35m by Hyderabad.

During Tuesday's closed door auction, teams will be allowed to use their unspent budget to buy new players and finalise squads before a 30-day deadline.

The list, all contracted to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), contains six Australians, seven New Zealanders, six Pakistanis, three from Bangladesh, two South Africans and one Sri Lankan.

The bids would commence at a base price of US $50,000, an IPL release said.

REBEL-LEAGUE OBJECTIONS

All-rounder Watson has endured an injury-prone career while Hogg retired from international cricket after last week's one-day tri-series final defeat at home against India.

Pakistan batsmen Misbah-ul Haq and Yousuf were not auctioned in the first phase. Yousuf, batting mainstay of his national team, was originally left out following objections from the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) for whom he had initially signed.

The organisers announced that members of India's World Cup winning under-19 squad would be chosen on the draft format like the NBA on a one-year contract fixed at US $ 30,000.

No trading of players would be allowed until the end of the season.

Australian paceman Shaun Tait, who took a break from the game in January due to emotional and physical exhaustion, and retired spinner Brad Hogg have also made public their desire to join the league. But neither are on Tuesday's auction list.

The list:

Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq, Salman Butt, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Haneef, Sohail Tanvir

New Zealand: Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, James Franklin, Chris Martin, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Jamie How

Australia: Brad Hodge, Shane Watson, James Hopes, Phil Jacques, Brett Geeves, Luke Pomerbach

South Africa: Morne Morkel, Ashwell Prince

Sri Lanka: Prasanna Jayawardena

Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak.

Source: REUTERS
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