Indian Premier League 2018 Auction: Everything you need to know

Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir

With less than 12 hours to go for the start of two-day Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Bengaluru on Saturday, a total of 578 players, which includes 361 Indians, will hold their breath to see the hammer coming down over the weekend and decide their fate for the coming seasons of the cash-rich league. 

MARQUEE PLAYERS

The auction is expected to witness a bidding war for 16 marquee players who have a base price ranging between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore. To name a few players from the list, franchises are expected to wrestle for Ben Stokes, R Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. (Full list of marquee players) 

THE ROOKIES

Uncapped players like fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti and batting prodigy Prithvi Shaw, who are making waves at the ongoing U-19 World Cup in New Zealand where India have made it to the semifinals, will be among some of the uncapped players who have generated a lot of interest among the bidders. (Here are the five top picks) 

RETAINED PLAYERS

A total of 18 players have been retained by the eight franchises. 

Delhi Daredevils: Rishabh Pant (Rs 8 crore), Chris Morris (Rs 7.1 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs 7 crore )
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Rs 15 crore), Suresh Raina (Rs 11 crore), Ravindra Jadeja (Rs 7 crore)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Rs 15 crore), Hardik Pandya (Rs 11 crore), Jasprit Bumrah (Rs 7 crore)
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Rs 17 crore), AB de Villers (Rs 11 crore), Sarfaraz Khan (Rs 1.75 crore)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (Rs 12 crore) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 8.5 crore)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine (Rs 8.5 crore), Andre Russell (Rs 7 crore)
Rajasthan Royals: Steven Smith (Rs 12 crore)
Kings XI Punjab: Axar Patel (Rs 6.75 crore)

THE HOT PROPERTIES

When players like Chris Gayle are among the auction pool, it's almost a given that the franchises will go all out to have them in their ranks to make an impact. But Gayle is not alone in that bracket. There are four others as well. (Find the names here)

POOL OF PLAYERS (Minimum base price Rs 1 crore)

Rs 2 crore: R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, M Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Karn Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Rashid Khan, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc, Cameron White, Eoin Morgan, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Corey Anderson, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, Colin Ingram, Angelo Mathews, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard.

Rs 1.5 crore: Aaron Finch, Amit Mishra, David Miller, Evin Lewis, Faf du Plessis, Harry Gurney, Hashim Amla, Jason Holder, Jason Roy, Jaydev Unadkat, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Kagiso Rabada, Kane Williamson, Kuldeep Yadav, Kyle Abbott, Lendl Simmons, Mark Wood, Michael Klinger, Moeen Ali, Mohit Sharma, Moises Henriques, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon, Peter Handscomb, Ravi Bopara, Shaun Marsh, Steven Finn, Travis Head, Trent Boult, Washington Sundar.

Rs 1 crore: Adam Zampa, Alex Hales, Andrew Tye, Ben Cutting, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Jordan, Dale Steyn, Daniel Christian, Dwayne Smith, Jason Behrendorff, JP Duminy, Lasith Malinga, Manish Pandey, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Imran Tahir, Mustafizur Rahman, Parthiv Patel, Piyush Chawla, Sam Billings, Samuel Badree, Sanju Samson, Shakib Al Hasan, Shane Watson, Tim Southee, Tom Curran, Tymal Mills, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha.

WHAT'S LEFT IN FRANCHISES' PURSES

Among the eight franchises who will be in the auction room on Saturday and Sunday, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians will have the least cash in their purses having retained three players each. Below is the complete list of funds remaining with each franchise.

Chennai Super Kings - Rs 47,00,00,000        
Delhi Daredevils - Rs 47,00,00,000        
Kings XI Punjab -  Rs 67,50,00,000        
Kolkata Knight Riders - Rs 59,00,00,000        
Mumbai Indians - Rs 47,00,00,000        
Rajasthan Royals - Rs 67,50,00,000        
Royal Challengers Bangalore - Rs 49,00,00,000        
Sunrisers Hyderabad - Rs 59,00,00,000

HOW TO TRACK IT LIVE

While Zeenews.com will bring you all the action with its Live blog and updates, you can also catch the auction live on TV and the Internet. (Click for details)