Yuvraj Singh, Hashim Amla among big stars to go under IPL hammer tomorrow

BENGALURU: Top cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Hashim Amla will be the star attractions in IPL 8 auctions that will see quite a few Indian and International players going under the hammer here tomorrow.

Last year's most expensive buy, Yuvraj, who was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 14 crores, will once again be one of the biggest names to hit the auction table this time around.

The other marquee players that will be auctioned, apart from Yuvraj, include former Delhi Daredevils captain Kevin Pietersen and their costliest player last year, Dinesh Karthik.

South Africa's Amla is another big fish waiting to be bought by the franchises, who will be ready with their respective strategic teams.

The other top flight players who will be up for auction this year include Mahela Jayawardene, Eoin Morgan, Kumar Sangakkara, Murali Vijay, Darren Sammy, Angelo Mathews, Aaron Finch and Alex Hales.

The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has been conducting the player auctions since the inaugural IPL season in 2008.

Ahead of the auction, a total of 122 cricketers including 78 Indians and 44 overseas players have been retained by the franchises for the 2015 season, while six Indian cricketers have been traded during the window for player trade this year.

This year, the franchises have a salary purse of Rs.63 crore each for the eighth season -- a 5 per cent increase over last season's purse.

The bidding process will serve as the prelude to the Pepsi IPL 2015 which will get underway on April 8.

The player auction will be broadcast live on both SONY SIX SD and HD at 9:30 am onwards.