Ishant Sharma only Indian cricketer with base price of Rs 2 crore

New Delhi: Veteran Indian seamer Ishant Sharma, who bowled a sensational spell on final day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh at Hyderabad, is the only Indian cricketer with a base price of Rs 2 crore at upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

The Delhi bowler is one of the seven players who have listed themselves in the highest base price bracket of Rs 2 crore (approx USD 298,000) for IPL 10 player auction.

The other big names include England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan, former Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson, England all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews and Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins.

The lanky pacer has played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Deccan Chargers (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in previous editions. The MS Dhoni-led franchise, who bought Ishant for Rs 3.8 crore, released him along with 10 other players.

The IPL auction is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 20.

A total of 799 players are part of the initial roster which would be reduced once the franchises submit their preferences before the deadline this weekend. There are 160 capped players from eight countries – leaving out Bangladesh and Pakistan – and 639 from India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

This will be the final year of IPL before the teams overhaul their squads for the 2018 season. The existing player contracts will expire after this season of the league and most players are expected to go under the hammer at a mega auction ahead of the 2018 season.