Jan. 7: Did someone say ‘Show me the money?’ Well, here it is, $74.3 million in all, as the Indian bigwigs walk into the ITC Gardenia Hotel here to pick players for their respective franchises in the high-profile IPL-4 auction over the weekend.

With the likes of Vijay Mallya, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Shah Rukh Khan and Nita Ambani to name a few bidding for key players, the auction is set to go down the wire. The two new entrants, Kochi, which braved a storm and almost teetered on the brink of ouster, and Pune are first-timers to the trade and will be keen to hustle up some of the big names who will go under the hammer.

In a strange development, only three Indians figure in the top-most bracket of $400,000 after the pullout of Anil Kumble from the auctions. Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly, who represented RCB, Kings XI and KKR will be up for grabs at the maximum reserve price which has a plethora of foreigners. The very fact that Ganguly, an icon of KKR, when it was launched, is up for auction is in itself a blow to the Kolkatans but in a league which is ruled by film stars, celebrities and top industrialists, sentiment surely takes a backseat.

Buying power, then, will determine the strength of the franchisees and it is very evident that lot of backroom hours have been spent on deciding the players they will pitch for. The league is so lucrative that Brian Lara, happily retired after the 2007 World Cup, has pitchforked himself into the fray at an obviously top price.

The biggest difference between the first two events and the third auction, which is spread over two days here is that, players won’t be bid purely on reputation. Over three editions, the franchisee owners have seen some of their big buys and big names fail while a clutch of younger generation of stars, some Indian and some international, have stunningly supplanted the established players.

Also, in the first two auctions, there was a salary cap of $3.3 and $5m, which many of the franchisees felt was way too small, after netting the big fishes. Having learned the ropes, the hard way or otherwise, the owners will be chary of going top-heavy and leave a fragile lower-order.

Of course, with the uncapped players not being part of the auction, many promising Indian youngsters, who have caught the eye of the owners over the past three years, will prove to be the pillars in a league which entails the owners to pick seven Indians in the eleven.

A combination of glitz and glamour has fuelled the growth of the IPL and the auction story which will unfold over the next couple of days will lift it further into rarefied sphere.

Gone are the feelings of disquiet and disbelief.

PLAYERS IN TOP BRACKET
$400,000 (base price)
A. Gilchrist (Aus) Batsman/WK
Brett Lee (Aus) Bowler
Shaun Marsh (Aus) Batsman
J. Anderson(Eng) Bowler
K.Pietersen (Eng) Batsman
S. Broad (Eng) All rounder
G. Swann (Eng) Bowler
Luke Wright (Eng) All rounder
M.Yardy (Eng) All rounder
R. Dravid (Ind) Batsman
S. Ganguly (Ind) Batsman
Yuvraj Singh (Ind) Batsman
D.Vettori (Nz) Bowler
B. McCullum (Nz) Batsman/WK
Ross Taylor (Nz) Batsman
G. Smith (SA) Batsman
AB De Villiers (SA) Batsman/WK
M.Jayawardene (SL) Batsman
T. Dilshan (SL) Batsman
Brian Lara (WI) Batsman
Chris Gayle(WI) Batsman