19 Lankans among 144 up for grabs for IPL 5 auction

Wednesday, 1 February 2012 00:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s captain and leading batsman Mahela Jayawardene and spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan will be among the 19 Sri Lankan cricketers up for grabs for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 5 auction on Saturday.

The Lankans will add up to 144 players in total standing up for the auction for what is likely to be an electrifying IPL.

Eight Indians, including veteran Test batsman V.V.S. Laxman, 32 Australians and 30 South Africans are among the major draw.

Besides Laxman, the Indians to come under the hammer for IPL’s fifth edition are fast bowlers Rudra Pratap Singh, Shantakumaran Sreesanth and R. Vinay Kumar, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel and spinner Ramesh Powar, who all played for the terminated Kochi franchise last year. Former Kings XI Punjab fast bowler V.R.V. Singh will also be available.

“The franchises purchased the bulk of their respective squads in 2011. Their aim at the upcoming auction will be to bring in some players who can make a difference to their prospects in the tournament,” said IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla in a statement.

The Australian players’ list comprise 41-year-old spinner Brad Hogg, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and retired leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.

Hogg made a comeback to the Australia side for the T20s against India with good performances in Big Bash T20 while Johnson has fallen for the cash-rich event after resisting it for the past four editions. Johnson, who was sidelined after undergoing a toe surgery, wants to use the IPL to comeback into the Australian team.

Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and batsman Herschelle Gibbs will lead the South African pack.

The auction list also includes 19 players from the West Indies, 15 English players, 10 New Zealanders, seven Zimbabweans, two Irish and a Bangladeshi and one from the Netherlands.