The player auction for the second season of the IPL will begin at 10.45 am in Goa. The franchise representatives are just making their way to the venue – John Buchanan just passed by carrying a backpack – and the media are out in force, waiting for the proceedings to start. There are a massive number of OB vans parked down the hill, waiting for the live feed, and large screens have been set up in the media enclosure.

No money will be carried forward if a franchise doesn’t spend its budget of $2 million but that doesn’t mean the teams are queuing up to splurge. “It doesn’t mean we are necessarily going to spend all our money,” a team official told Cricinfo. “We don’t intend to pay over the odds for any player. At the same time, I’m sure every franchise will be busting a gut to get the players they really need because, at the end of the day, we have cities and fans to answer to.”

Word on the grapevine is that JP Duminy, who had such a sensational tour of Australia, is likely to join the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Andrew Symonds and Kevin Pietersen in the million-dollar club.