MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, which will see 183 players from countries like England being auctioned to franchises, will take place in Bangalore on 4 February.

The proceedings, to start at 11 am, will air live on Max, the official broadcaster of the IPL.

The IPL Governing Council has shortlisted 183 players for the upcoming auction, including 25 Zimbabweans. England off spinner Graeme Swann has the highest reserve price of $400,000.
 
James Anderson and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson were placed in the $300,000 bracket. Former Australian spinners Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill and former Pakistan all rounder Azhar Mahmood have attracted reserve prices of $100,000.

The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has conducted each of the previous IPL player auctions.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, ?Fans of the sport, based in India and elsewhere, will be following the happenings with a lot of interest. The auction sets the stage for what promises to be an absorbing fifth season of the tournament. The developments during the first trading window have given us an idea of the varied pproaches that the teams have adopted for the forthcoming season. The Auction will give us a deeper insight into the same.?

The opening match of IPL 2012 will take place on 4 April in Chennai.

MUMBAI: IPL?s franchise from Pune, Pune Warriors, has retained Sourav Ganguly, who was included in last year?s squad as an injury replacement.

Pune Warriors director Abhijit Sarkar said, "We are privileged to have a player of Sourav Ganguly?s calibre in our squad. He has been one of India?s greatest and most inspirational cricketers. We have no doubt that his presence in the team will boost the team?s prospects in the IPL, and motivate the boys to excel themselves."

Ganguly has played with Shah Rukh Khan?s Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL?s first three editions. Last year, he signed up with Pune Warriors after the start of the 2011 edition of the tournament.

Kings XI Punjab has signed David Miller, the middle-order batsman from South Africa, for the next two seasons.

MUMBAI: West Indian opener Chris Gayle has joined IPL franchise Royal challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 2011 IPL as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. He was the recipient of the Orange Cap for being the highest scorer in IPL 2011.

Gayle also played for RCB in the CLT20 2011. He was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.

Royal Challengers Sports director Sidhartha Mallya said, "We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. His form helped us qualify for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament. We are confident that with players like him in our side, we will take the extra step this season, and win our maiden IPL title".

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called upon all international players attached to Kochi Tuskers to register a case against the defunct IPL team to recover their pending fees.

Since the players? contracts are between them and the franchisees, the BCCI has asked the cricketers to move against the team. As for Indian cricketers who played for Kochi, they have got 65 per cent of their salaries, it is learnt.

International cricketers who played for Kochi in the last season include Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brendon McCullum and Steven Smith. Earlier, these players were given verbal commitment from the IPL that the Board would protect the players? right, but things went topsy turvy.

It may be noted that the BCCI had terminated Kochi?s contract during its September AGM for breaching terms of agreement. The board also encashed the team?s bank guarantee of Rs 1.56 billion.

MUMBAI: The IPL is proving to be very lucrative for some players. Last night Kevin Pietersen joined Delhi Daredevils for a reported $2 million.

Pietersen made $1.5 million when he debited in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009. But when the auction was done last year, he joined the Deccan Chargers for $650,000.

Pietersen said, ?I am looking forward to a wonderful time with the Delhi Daredevils. It will be a great experience to be playing in the same squad as Sehwag."

Pietersen will earn all the money if he plays in the full competition.

GMR Sports head cricket TA Sekar said: "Kevin?s addition would strengthen the Delhi Daredevils squad this season. We are pleased to add Kevin to our line-up. He brings rich experience and an explosive quality to our batting and can be a more than a handy off-spinner as well. We are sure that Kevin will help us to be very competitive this season and the Delhi Daredevils fans will enjoy this addition."

MUMBAI: The new Stadium in Pune, subject to final completion, will make its debut as an IPL venue, by staging all eight ?home? games of the Pune Warriors India.

Dharamsala, Cuttack and Izanagi will host two games each.

As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the league will start from 4 April 2012 with nine teams and 76 matches. The league will commence with Chennai Super Kings, the defending champions, taking on the Mumbai Indians, the Champions League T20 winners, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The league stage, which comprises 72 matches, with each team playing the other eight in a home-and-away format, will go on till 20 May 2012.

The venue of the two finalist teams from 2011 edition will host the Play offs. Bengaluru will host Qualifier 1 (1 vs 2) and the Eliminator (3 vs 4) on 22 and 23 May respectively. Qualifier 2 and the Final will be played in Chennai on 25 May and 27 May respectively.