Stokes and Archer have previously represented Rajasthan Royals © BCCI/IPL
Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Joe Root and Mitchell Starc have decided to skip this year's Indian Premier League (IPL). The star players, big names in international cricket, have decided not to enrol for the mega-auction, to be held on February 12 and 13.

Root had previously declared that he would have to sacrifice IPL for England and Test cricket, but the absence of Stokes, Archer and Starc was a surprise. Over 1200 players (1214 precisely) have made it to the initial list of the auction register shared with the IPL franchises on Friday night (January 21).

Some of the big international names who have made themselves available are Pat Cummins (Australia, base price Rs 2 crore), David Warner (Australia, Rs 2 crore), Steve Smith (Australia, Rs 2 crore), Quinton de Kock (South Africa, Rs 2 crore), Faf du Plessis (South Africa, Rs 2 crore) and Mark Wood (England, Rs 2 crore). Wood, one of the fastest bowlers, was a prominent absentee from last year's auction.

The South African pace trio of Kagiso Rabada (Rs 2 crore) and Lungi Ngidi (Rs 50 lakh) and Marco Jansen (Rs 50 lakh), who tormented India in the just-concluded Test series, have enrolled themselves for the auction, likely to be held in Bangalore. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has, however, not mentioned the dates and venue of the auction in the mail.

Among others, Dwayne Bravo (Rs 2 crore) has put his name up, but another big name missing from the list is Chris Gayle. The Jamaican has been a regular feature in the IPL since its inception but the West Indies veteran, who is surely near the autumn of his international career, may have realised the diminishing batting returns. The Curran brothers - Sam and Tom - are other glaring absentees in the list but as one understands, both will be out of action during IPL (April-May) due to injuries.

Of the 1,214 names on the Auction Register, 896 are Indian players and 318 overseas players. The list incorporates 270 capped, 903 uncapped and 41 players from Associate nations like Nepal, UAE, Oman, Scotland and the Netherlands. There are 14 players from the USA too.

If every franchise were to have the maximum of 25 players in their squad, 217 players will be bought in the auction, of which up to 70 may be overseas players. Even considering the fact that all teams are unlikely to go for the full quota of players, there is still a high possibility that at least 200 players will go under the hammer.

After the end of the Ashes recently, Root had explained reasons for skipping the IPL but Starc had hinted that he was contemplating an IPL comeback. "I've not put my name down just yet, but I've got a couple more days to decide on that. It's certainly on the table regardless of what the schedule has got coming up," the Australian pacer had said. Cricbuzz, however reported later that he could give the IPL a miss.

Root had to say this for his IPL miss. "I think that there's a lot that we need to do for this team, which deserves all of my energy. I really hope I get the opportunity to do it. I'll keep sacrificing as much as I can because I care so much about Test cricket in our country and trying to get us to wear we can."

For all practical purposes, the list of players should be considered final. However, the BCCI has told the franchises that should they want any inclusions in the register, they should send the names in three days (by January 25). Besides, each team has been given time up to January 28 to send the final list of players that they want included for the auction. Effectively, the BCCI wants the teams to prune the list, so that 1214 names need not be called.

A total of 33 players have been retained/picked ahead of the auction. While the existing eight franchises have retained 27 players, the two new teams have picked three players each.

Retentions/Purchases and purse available

Team No. of retentions/purchases Purse available (in INR)
CSK 4 48 Cr
MI 4 48 Cr
DC 4 47.5 Cr
KKR 4 48 Cr
RCB 3 57 Cr
RR 3 62 Cr
SRH 3 68 Cr
PBKS 2 72 Cr
Lucknow 3 59.8 Cr
Ahmedabad 3 52 Cr
Key Points of the Auction Register

Criteria No. of Players
Total number of players 1214
No of Indian players 896
No of overseas players 318
No of capped players 270
No of uncapped players 903
No of Associate players 41
Not of capped Indian players 61
No of capped international players 209
Uncapped Indians who were a part of previous IPL seasons 143
Uncapped International who were a part of previous IPL seasons 6
Uncapped Internationals players 62