IPL 2014 Auctions: 12 more players added to the capped list; 651 uncapped players made available

Varun Aaron

A total of 12 players have been added to the list of capped players for the IPL 7 auctions. The list now expands to a total of 244 capped players. The players included are:

• India: Laxmi Shukla, Varun Aaron, Hemang Badani, Aavishkar Salvi, VRV Singh
• South Africa: Farhan Behardien, Roelof van de Merwe, Henry Davids, David Wiese
• Australia: Chris Lynn
• England: Simon Jones
• West Indies: Andre Russell

An extended list of 651 uncapped players, who are set to take part in the auctions for the very first time, has been created. These include notable names like Manish Pandey, Unmukt Chand, Rishi Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia, Iqbal Abdullah and Tirumalasetti Suman. The franchises have received the list only today morning with a deadline of February 3 to send the names of the players they are interested in. The IPL Governing Council will then make a final short-list based on the names received from the franchises.

50 more names are likely to be added to this already long-list, which has been made following the nominations from various state associations in India and eight other countries.

The list is divided into two groups. The 1st group has names of 127 players who have already played in the IPL, while the second list is set to feature potential first-timers.

The absence of uncapped players in previous auctions was already a topic of much debate with franchises complaining that their richer rivals were allegedly luring players with under-the-table deals.

With the squad strength having been restricted by the IPL to only 27, including a total of 9 overseas players, the franchises are set to concentrate on the domestic talents available in the auctions. However, the quality of uncapped players has been questionable throughout the years.

The uncapped players can have a base price fixed between Rs 10 – 30 lakhs. Manish Pandey and Rishi Dhawan have opted for a base price of Rs 20 lakhs, while seasoned campaigners like Rajat Bhatia, Suman, Chand and Abdulla have placed themselves in the top-bracket of Rs 30 lakhs. Parvez Rasool, the solitary entrant in the list from Jammu and Kashmir, has a base price of Rs 20 lakhs.