Cricket
Pietersen in IPL auction
2009-01-29 16:09
London - Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are among eight England Test players into the auction for the Indian Premier League and the list includes the retired Darren Gough and Dominic Cork.
The England cricket board has allowed its contracted players to play in this season's IPL after stopping them last year. The players will go into the February 6 auction to decide who plays for which team.
According to IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Monty Panesar, Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Owais Shah have also been included. The list includes 20 English players and Gough and Cork are also selected despite both retiring.
"Everybody is very much looking forward to having England players coming out here," said Modi, adding that Pietersen will have a base price of $1.35 million and Flintoff $950,000. "The players are happy they are all able to participate. They are all very good players and I think it will be very good for the second edition of the IPL."
The auction list involves 148 players who each have a minimum value. Modi dismissed suggestions that a deal for the big-hitting Pietersen had already been done.
"That is not the case," Modi said. "The rules prohibit that. All players must go through the auction. They must be picked through the auction at hammer price."