The IPL will put in place a list of 80 players - foreign and those under BCCI contract - who will be available for auction. However, as Modi explained, that icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly would continue playing for their respective city teams, considering the fan following.

“Tendulkar will play for Mumbai, Dravid for Bangalore and so on,” he said. Apart from these three players, Yuvraj Singh would also be playing for his city team in Mohali.

The average fee for players is expected to be around $ 250,000 while the highest - in the case of former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne - could be expected to reach the bracket of $ 400,000.

It is quite likely that players of the calibre of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly will feature in the same bracket.

Modi also said that “not all the overseas cricketers and national players might be available for the tournament this year if the ICC’s international calendar does not permit it.”

New Zealand’s tour of England and Australia’s tour of West Indies will be played in May. Also, it will have to be seen whether Australia end up touring Pakistan in the month of April.