The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council has finalized the list of players for the upcoming mini-auction, which is scheduled to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. A total of 350 players have been shortlisted and will be bid on as ten franchises look to strengthen their squads for the next edition of the tournament.
In an interesting development, Nikhil ChaudharyWho currently plays domestic cricket in Australia, has been listed as an uncapped Indian all-rounder, which has surprised many fans. Chaudhary appears in the fifth set of uncapped all-rounders in the auction roster and has set his base price at Rs 40 lakh. Their state association is listed as Punjab Cricket Association.
Chaudhary made his List A and T20 debut for Punjab eight years ago in 2017 and eventually shifted his cricket career to Australia. The 29-year-old player has been an active part of domestic competitions including the Big Bash League (BBL). He represented the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's premier T20 tournament and has already appeared in 20 matches, scoring 386 runs and taking nine wickets. In red-ball cricket, Choudhary has been representing Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield for the past few seasons.
Notably, he is only the second Indian-origin player to compete in the BBL after Unmukt Chand. After moving to Australia in 2020, Choudhary has become eligible to participate in overseas leagues as the BCCI restricts active Indian players from doing so unless they retire from all formats of Indian cricket.
As far as the dynamics of the auction are concerned, franchises will compete for 77 available slots, which also includes 31 positions allotted for overseas players. The highest reserve price is Rs 2 crore, 40 players have entered the auction under this bracket.
Initially, 1390 players had registered for the mini-auction, of which only 350 were shortlisted. Of these, 240 are Indian and 110 foreign players. The pool also includes 224 uncapped Indian cricketers and 14 uncapped foreign players. Earlier this year, ten franchises had already announced their list of retained players, laying the foundation for the upcoming auction.
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