Indian Premier League auction: Star players up for grabs

With two new teams and 590 players all hoping to land a lucrative and perhaps life-changing deal, this year's Indian Premier League mega auction — as the name suggests — is going to be huge.

The world's richest cricket competition will return for its 15th edition on 2 April, with the final taking place on 2 June as Chennai Super Kings look to defend their crown.

But before focus turns to matters on the field, franchises will battle it out in a two-day bidding frenzy in Bangalore this weekend.

Experience over youth? Blow your budget on marquee names? Or take a gamble on an unknown player? From the ins and outs of how the auction works to the global superstars up for grabs, this guide will tell you all you need to know about the 2022 IPL mega auction.

Plus, at the bottom, you can get a taste of what it's like to be an IPL franchise owner by picking your top three from 10 star players in this year's auction.

CSK beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in last year's IPL final, but their hopes of equalling Mumbai Indians' record five-trophy haul may prove to be slightly more difficult this year; the introduction of Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans from Ahmedabad takes the number of IPL teams to 10.

There will be 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players up for auction, 49 of which have set their baseline price at the top 20 million (2 crore) Indian Rupees (£196,706) mark.

Among those is the player of the T20 World Cup and IPL veteran David Warner. The opening batter, with 5,449 runs in 150 matches, is the top overseas (and fifth overall) run-scorer in IPL history.

Warner's World Cup winning team-mates Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are also available and we may see a hotly-contested bidding war for other overseas