The lucrative Indian Premier League could be about to get much bigger, with Australian players being told the tournament’s $US5 million salary cap could be abolished.Although some IPL franchises are already starting to struggle financially with low crowd numbers and their player’s bumper pay packets, others are apparently keen to splash even more cash to land the world’s best players.

Think Andrew Symonds $1.5 million-a-season deal was big? One Australian player has reportedly been told by Indian captain MS Dhoni that salaries could skyrocket to a staggering $15 million.Dhoni is currently the highest earning IPL star, with a contract worth $1.65 million.Australian and Chennai opener Matthew Hayden says he has heard the IPL player payments are only going to get bigger.“From what I have heard, some of the stuff this year could be just the tip of the iceberg,” Hayden said.

The removal of the salary cap would increase fears about what the IPL could do to international cricket, with many players already considering retiring early from representing their country in order to chase the big dollars on offer in India.There is currently no “IPL window” in the international cricket calendar, meaning the tournament will continue to clash with national team tours.Australia is about to begin its tour of the West Indies, and is set to tour South Africa and Pakistan during the IPL season next year.