IPL players' auction may be put off

With the Board of Control for Cricket in India entangled in legal battles against Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees Rajasthan Royals and King's XI Punjab, the players' auction scheduled for January 8-9 may be postponed, a BCCI source said on Saturday.

"There is a possibility that the IPL players' auction may be postponed," the source said, indicating that the court cases might drag on and upset the BCCI's calculations for holding the auction as scheduled.

The Bombay High Court had compounded BCCI's problems by staying the termination order of both Rajasthan and Punjab and there is a possibility that IPL-4 may even have 10 teams.

Barring 12 Indian and overseas players retained by the eight original IPL franchises and the foreign cricketers (four maximum) not previously seen in the IPL and signed by the two new franchisees Kochi and Pune, all the remaining top players will go under the auctioneer's hammer.

The 12 cricketers who have been retained are:

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Ind), Murali Vijay (Ind), Suresh Raina (Ind) and Albie Morkel (SA).

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Harbhajan Singh (Ind), Lasith Malinga (SL), Kieron Pollard (WI).

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (Aus), Shane Watson (Aus).

Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag (Ind).

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Ind).