Darren Gough and Shaun Udal are the surprise names on a 13-strong list of potential English participants in this year's Indian Premier League. The 38-year-old Gough, who announced his retirement at the end of last season, and Udal, the Middlesex off-spinner who will be 40 by the time the IPL gets under way in April, are part of a multinational list of 70 players who could make the auction in Goa on 6 February, although IPL officials say it is likely to be cut to 40 or 50.
The English contingent also includes Robert Key, the Kent captain, and James Foster, the Essex and former England wicketkeeper, as well as seven members of the current Test party in the Caribbean: Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, Monty Panesar, Owais Shah and Ryan Sidebottom. Samit Patel and Ravi Bopara are also on the list.
The eight IPL franchises are eligible to spend only $2m each at the player auction, since most of the serious bidding was done at the inaugural auction in Mumbai last year. But Pietersen, who has been courted by the Bangalore Royal Challengers, could be valued at as much as $1.5m alone. One official for the franchise, which struggled last year, told Cricinfo they were interested in the former England captain "because the team right now needs a maverick and a star in the dressing room".
Centrally contracted England players are available for the first three weeks of the seven-week tournament, between 10 April and 1 May, following an agreement hammered out between Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner of the IPL, and Sean Morris, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association.
Unlike last February, when players were picked up like bargains at the January sales, this year's IPL auction will be all about cherry picking. As far as the players involved are concerned, it will be a non-combative version of what Charles Darwin called "the survival of the fittest". Close to 50 players are expected to be on the list released tomorrow or Thursday, but no more than 16 are likely to be bought when the eight franchises venture to Goa with their team-building strategies.
The chief executives and team owners congregate on 6 February, most likely at the Fort Aguada Beach Resort in Sinquerim. A total of $14m will be spent on players for the second edition of the IPL. The total kitty would have been higher by $2m, if not for the fact that the Delhi Daredevils have already filled their quota of 10 overseas players by signing Dirk Nannes, the Victoria and Middlesex left-arm seamer.
Most teams signed at least eight foreigners last season – only four are allowed to play in a game – and further slots have been filled by uncapped players who do not need to go through the auction process. Australia's David Warner, Andrew McDonald and Ryan Harris and England's Graham Napier are among those who have been added to squads in this way.
With at least five signings a certainty – Pietersen, Flintoff, Michael Clarke, JP Duminy and Brad Haddin – there are fewer than a dozen openings left. One of those is likely to be filled by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, whose stock has risen dramatically after a string of impressive all-round displays. There's also strong interest in pace options such as Shaun Tait, Tim Southee and Morne Morkel.
The emphasis is very much on "multiskilled" cricketers or "game-breakers", and it would surprise many if more than four Englishmen made the cut – Broad and Shah being the two other likely ones. Bangalore's interest in Pietersen is the worst-kept secret in the land.
All players need a no-objection certificate from their home board, and the IPL is also insisting that the English players who are up for auction be available for the next two seasons. With sums of $1.5m being mentioned with respect to Pietersen, it's highly unlikely that the guarantee won't be given.
