As many as 1,097 players have registered for the much-awaited IPL auction to be held in Chennai on February 18 with most entries coming from the West Indies (56) followed by Australia (42) and South Africa (38).

The player registration deadline closed on Thursday and the list comprises 207 international players including 21 capped Indians.

Twenty-seven players will represent the associate nations and 863 uncapped cricketers, including 743 Indians and 68 overseas.

The number of uncapped Indians who have played at least one IPL game stands at 50 and two for overseas uncapped players.

“If every franchise were to have the maximum of 25 players in their squad, 61 players will be taken in the auction (of which up to 22 may be overseas players),” read the IPL statement on Friday.

The auction, scheduled a day after the second Test between India and England, will start at 3p.m. local time.

Kings XI Punjab go into the auction with the biggest purse available at with ₹53.20 crore, followed by RCB (₹35.90 crore), RR (₹34.85 crore), CSK (₹22.90 crore), MI (₹15.35 crore), DC (₹12.9 crore) and ₹10.75 crore each for KKR and SRH.

The 2020 edition was held in the U.A.E due to the pandemic but the upcoming edition is likely to be played in India.

Top Australian draws like Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell were released from Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab respectively on the last day of the retention deadline on January 20.

The other notable names to be released were Chris Morris, Harbhajan Singh and Aaron Finch. A total of 139 players were retained by the franchises and 57 players were releases.

Country-wise breakdown of 283 overseas players who have registered: Afghanistan (30), Australia (42), Bangladesh (5), England (21), Ireland (2), Nepal (8), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (29), Scotland (7), South Africa (38), Sri Lanka (31), UAE (9), USA (2), West Indies (56), Zimbabwe (2).

Source: The Hindu