Mitchell Starc opts out of IPL 2021 auction
In a disappointing development for cricket fans, Mitchell Starc has not enrolled himself for the IPL 2021 auction. The Aussie pacer's name did not appear on the list of 1,097 players who will go under the hammer at the mini-auction.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Mitchell Starc and Joe Root will not be a part of the IPL 2021 auction. Both players did not register for last year's auction either. The reason for their absence is yet to be determined.
The IPL 2021 player auction will take place on February 18th in Chennai. Big names like Kedar Jadhav, Jason Roy, Mark Wood, Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, and Colin Ingram have set their base price at ₹2 crores.
Former Rajasthan Royals pace bowler Sreesanth is likely to return to the tournament this year. The franchises will have to bid a minimum of ₹75 lakhs to gain Sreesanth's services. Meanwhile, the number one T20I batsman in the world Dawid Malan's base price is ₹1.5 crores.
Other big names who will enter the auction with a ₹1.5 crores base price are Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Alex Carey, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Swepson, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Alex Hales, and David Willey.
Arjun Tendulkar, Marnus Labuschagne looking to receive their maiden contracts at IPL 2021 auction
As per Cricbuzz, Sachin Tendulkar's son, Arjun, will be a part of the upcoming auction. His base price is ₹25 lakhs. Former Royal Challengers Bangalore stars Aaron Finch and Umesh Yadav are under the ₹1 crore base price category.
Other international names present in the ₹1 crore base price section are Sheldon Cottrell, Hanuma Vihari, and Marnus Labuschagne. India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has set his base price at ₹50 lakhs for the auction.
The full list of players registered comprises of 814 Indians and 283 overseas cricketers.