Pietersen leads list of 111 players for auction

The IPL has announced an exhaustive list of 111 overseas players who will be considered for the second auction in Goa on February 6. Not surprisingly, Australians dominate the list (27) while the big difference from last year's edition is the addition of 19 England players, a number that would have even higher but for the late withdrawal of Shaun Udal.

Each franchise has a maximum of US$2m to spend on their overseas signings in the auction, which gets underway on February 6, and it is likely that only about 16 players - or two per franchise - will be chosen out of the 111.

The England players will be available for a three-week window in the tournament for the next two years, with Kevin Pietersen the star attraction. Pietersen's base price has been pegged at US$1.35m, and it is expected that he will top Mahendra Singh Dhoni's US$1.5m salary, currently the highest in the league. Veterans like Dominic Cork and Darren Gough also figure in the list.

"We are extremely happy with the interest the league has garnered globally," said Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, "and look forward to the action at the second player auction in Goa.

"I think it's important for world cricket and for the IPL that the English players are participating," he told Sky Sports News. "I think that they are all very, very good players. Some are batting players and some are players who have great experience behind them and I think it will be very good for the second edition of the IPL.

"The prices are based upon the 14 league games. If they play 10 of the 14 games they get paid according to ratio. If they play seven they get half."

Modi said the demand for England's top stars would be high. "If you look at the base price it's close to US$250,000 and US$350,000 a week for each week he [Pietersen] plays, which is comparable to the top soccer players around the world," he told Setanta Sports News. "Andrew Flintoff has a minimum base price of US$950,000, but he'll probably go for a higher figure. It'll be quite competitive. All the teams can afford it. Everyone's trying to get England's top players in their team."