Some of the world’s best cricketers will be auctioned off in Dubai on Tuesday for the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Players can start bidding for their services for as little as $240,000, but the best will be scooped up for much more.
This time around, the ten IPL franchises will have a total of $31.5 million to spend.
The wealthiest Twenty20 event in cricket is set to begin in March.
With the players pocketing the majority of the cost, AFP looks at five celebrities who could win big:
Australia’s Pat Cummins
Cummins missed the IPL this year due to a busy schedule, but he will return triumphantly after leading Australia to World Cup gold in India.
The quick bowler bowled out Indian idol Virat Kohli in front of a crowd of 100,000 in the final in Ahmedabad and was well praised for his captaincy in bringing Australia to the win.
Cummins, 30, will enter with a high base price of $240,000, having previously set an auction record of $2.17 million while signing with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2019.
Other Australian World Cup champions in the hunt include Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, and Sean Abbott.
New Zealander Rachin Ravindra
The young Indian batting all-rounder scored three hundreds in 578 runs at the World Cup, with a strike rate of 106 and five tournament wickets.
The 24-year-old’s first name represents his father’s admiration for India’s cricket legends: “Ra” for Rahul Dravid and ‘chin’ for Sachin Tendulkar.
Ravindra, a left-handed batter and spinner, had his name screamed by Indian fans throughout the World Cup and can expect the same fervor from clubs when his name is put up for auction for a starting price of $60,000.
Harry Brook from England
Exciting England batsman Brook has scored runs in all three international forms and has a T20 strike rate of 141.54.
He was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous auction for $1.6 million but has yet to make an impact, despite a century early in this year’s IPL.
The 24-year-old then scored just 169 runs in six World Cup matches, but he recently produced a match-winning 43 in a West Indies One-Day International and has preserved his base price at $240,000.
South African novelist Gerald Coetzee
Coetzee was one of the World Cup’s breakout stars, finishing inside the top five bowlers with 20 wickets.
The South African quick made his debut in a Test against the West Indies at Centurion earlier this year and has since played every format to add to the Proteas’ pace resources.
Coetzee, 23, is seeking to advance his career in the lucrative IPL and has maintained his position at the top with a base fee of $240,000.
Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga
Hasaranga’s leg-spin has earned him a reputation for taking wickets at vital moments, and he has been Sri Lanka’s go-to bowler in white-ball formats.
The all-rounder signed a $1.43 million contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2022, but the franchise dismissed him before this year’s auction.
As an attacking middle-order batsman, he has 158 limited-overs wickets and a T20 strike rate of more than 124.
The 26-year-old was injured during the World Cup, but he may expect another big IPL contract with a basic salary of $180,000.