Its raining dollars for the Australian’s as Australian Test captain, Michael Clarke, and retired former captain, Ricky Ponting have topped the list of 101 players available for auction for the upcoming season of Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013. Both players will be auctioned at the highest reserve price of USD 400,000

Following are the 101 players who will be auctioned on February 3, 2013 at Chennai :-
Use the search function to find the exact player name. You can also sort it by reserve price by clicking on top of the table row.

Darren Lehmann was named as the new coach of Kings XI Punjab for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League 2013.

“We are extremely happy to have Darren Lehmann on-board as the coach of our team. Darren brings with him rich experience and immense knowledge about the game and the T20 format through his stints with IPL and other leagues,” promoters of Kings XI Punjab said in a statement.

“We firmly believe that he will be a great mentor to our team and will take us to new heights. We wish him all the best for his endeavours,” it added.

Replying to his new job, Darren said, “I am extremely honoured. The franchise has always excited me and I look forward to working with the owners, players, support staff and fans. I’m geared up for the challenges it brings and will always encourage our team to be an entertaining and aggressive brand that people love to watch and associate with. I’m also looking forward to working with Adam Gilchrist again and help all the players grow on and off the field. I would once again like to thank the owners for giving me this opportunity.”

Deccan Chargers who were scrapped by BCCI earlier will be replaced by The new Hyderabad franchise, the Sunrisers backed by the Sun Group. Sunrisers did not renewed Lehmann’s contract and appointed former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody as their coach.

As per the list of 101 players to be auctioned on Feb 3, 2013, no Pakistani player will feature in the sixth edition of PepsiCo IPL 2013.

Since 2008 Mumbai Terror attack, IPL has always snubbed Pakistani cricketers but this time due to the resumption of talks and India Pak ODI series, it was expected that Pakistani players will be available for auction. But as the list is out, the franchises and even the BCCI wants to play it safe and thus have excluded all Pakistani players.

Recent tensions on border and continuous verbal attack by Shiv Sena and other political parties which are against the inclusion of Pakistan in IPL has nothing to do with this decision as the decision of not including the Pakistani players was taken before the border incident. This was stated by a BCCI official who choose his name should not be disclosed.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed up fast bowler Sandeep Warrier from Kerala for the upcoming season of IPL 2013.

The 21 year old fast bowler from Kerala has been rewarded for his wonderful performance in Ranji where he got 24 wickets in 5 matches.

Pune Warriors have signed up with Ishwar Pandey, the highest wicket taker in Ranji trophy. Pandey who bagged 48 wickets in 8 games and plays for Madhya Pradesh will be hoping to continue his good run in IPL so as to make way for getting in Indian Cricket team.

“I am happy that my consistent performance has been rewarded. My focus will be to do well for the Pune Warriors and cement my place in the playing XI. For an upcoming cricketer like me, IPL is the kind of exposure that will help me understand the rigours of top-flight cricket,” Pandey told PTI