The China Mail - Cummins leads stars up for grabs in big-money IPL auction

Players can start the bidding for their services at up to $240,000 but the best will be snapped up for many times that.

This time the 10 IPL franchises will have a combined $31.5 million to spend.

The Twenty20 tournament, the richest in cricket, is expected to begin in March.

With the players pocketing most of the fee, AFP looks at five stars who could hit the jackpot:

- Pat Cummins (Australia) -

Cummins skipped this year's IPL because of a packed calendar but will make a triumphant return after taking Australia to World Cup glory in India.

The fast bowler silenced a crowd of 100,000 in the final in Ahmedabad when he bowled out Indian hero Virat Kohli and was widely lauded for his captaincy in leading Australia to the title.

Cummins, 30, who previously made an auction record of $2.17 million when he signed with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019, will enter with a top base price of $240,000.

Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith and Sean Abbott will be among the other Australian World Cup winners in the hunt for a payday.

- Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) -

The up-and-coming batting all-rounder of Indian origin made three centuries in his 578 runs at the World Cup for a strike rate of 106, along with five tournament wickets.

The 24-year-old's first name reflects his father's love of India's cricket greats -- "Ra" from Rahul Dravid and 'chin' from Sachin Tendulkar.

Ravindra, a left-handed batter and spinner, had his name chanted by Indian fans during the World Cup and can expect the same enthusiasm from franchises when his name comes up for grabs at a base price of $60,000.

- Harry Brook (England) -

Exciting England batsman Brook has plundered runs in all three international formats and has a strike rate of 141.54 in the T20 version.

He was snapped up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.6 million in the previous auction but failed to make much of an impact, barring a century early in this year's IPL.

The 24-year-old then managed just 169 runs in six World Cup matches, but recently hit a match-winning 43 in a West Indies ODI and has kept his base price at $240,000.

- Gerald Coetzee (South Africa) -

One of the breakout stars of the World Cup, Coetzee finished inside the top five bowlers in the competition with 20 wickets.

The South African quick made his debut early this year in a Test against West Indies at Centurion and has since played every format to add to the Proteas' pace riches.

Coetzee, 23, is looking to boost his career in the money-spinning IPL and has kept himself in the top bracket with a base price of $240,000.

- Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) -

Hasaranga has built a reputation of taking wickets at crucial junctures with his leg-spin and has been Sri Lanka's go-to bowler in white-ball formats.

The all-rounder earned a $1.43 million contract at Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2022 but was released by the team ahead of this year's auction.

He has claimed 158 wickets in limited-overs formats and has a T20 strike rate of more than 124 as an attacking middle-order batsman.

The 26-year-old missed the World Cup with injury but should expect another lucrative IPL contract with a base price of $180,000.

J.Thompson--ThChM