Michael Hussey: on his way to Chennai © Getty Images

Glenn McGrath and Michael Hussey have been bought for US$350,000 by Delhi and Chennai respectively. McGrath went at his base price while Hussey was bought for US$100,000 more.

All the rest were sold at their base prices. Mohali bought both Simon Katich (US$200,000) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (US$225,000). Shivnarine Chanderpaul was bought by Bangalore for US$200,000, Loots Bosman went to Mumbai for US$175,000 and Justin Langer to Jaipur for US$200,000.

Mohammad Yousuf and Ashwell Prince were the only two players who were withdrawn. Of the 77 players, 75 players were sold at the base price or above.

Squads as of now:

Jaipur Shane Warne (US$450,000), Graeme Smith (US$475,000), Younis Khan (US$225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$675,000), Munaf Patel (US$275,000), Justin Langer (US$200,000)

Chennai MS Dhoni (US$1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$600,000), Matthew Hayden (US$375,000), Jacob Oram (US$675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$225,000), Albie Morkel (US$675,000), Suresh Raina (US$650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$200,000), Michael Hussey (US$350,000)

Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$150,000), Loots Bosman (US$175,000)

Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$450,000), Mark Boucher (US$450,000), Cameron White (US$500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$150,000), Dale Steyn (US$325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (US$200,000)

Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist (US$700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$675,000), Scott Styris (US$175,000), VVS Laxman (US$375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$750,000), Chamara Silva (US$100,000), RP Singh (US$875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US$110,000)

Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000), Brett Lee (US$900,000), Sreesanth (US$625,000), Irfan Pathan (US$925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$170,000), Piyush Chawla (US$400,000), Simon Katich (US$200,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (US$225,000)

Kolkata Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$700,000), Chris Gayle (US$800,000), Ajit Agarkar (US$330,000), David Hussey (US$675,000), Ishant Sharma (US$950,000), Murali Kartik (US$425,000), Umar Gul (US$150,000), Tatenda Taibu (US$125,000)

Delhi Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$650,000), AB de Villiers (US$300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$725,000), Glenn McGrath (US$350,000)

News is filtering in that John Buchanan has confirmed he will coach the Kolkata team in the IPL. Buchanan said one of his main roles as franchise coach would be to blend different cultures into a team, AAP reported.

"I don't ever see that as a problem, once players merge together as a side you are actually trying to achieve a result," Buchanan said. "What will be interesting is that you will have Australian players, Indian players, New Zealand players, Sri Lankan players, Pakistani players ... and they could all end up in the one franchise.

"That will make for an interesting cultural exchange no doubt ... and that will be one of the exciting parts, bringing together cultural differences in a very short period of time."

All the rounds of bidding are over, but we are left with a few unsold players. The modalities of the re-bidding for them are being decided currently. As per the rules released yesterday teams will be allowed to bid below the base price.

The list of unsold players: Glenn McGrath, Mohammad Yousuf, Tatenda Taibu, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ashwell Prince, Loots Bosman, and Mike Hussey

	Ishant Sharma was bought for nearly a million dollars by Kolkata © Getty Images

Ishant Sharma’s superb performance in Australia was rewarded with a cool bid of $50,000 short of a million, his base price being $150,000. With that he became Kolkata’s biggest draft, sending Sourav Ganguly into the million club.

RP Singh was the other big draft among the bowlers: Hyderabad bought him for $875,000, which rose from his base price of $200,000. Piyush Chawla, Dale Steyn, Murali Kartik, and Munaf Patel were the only other bowlers whose final bid was more than twice their respective base prices. Chawla went for $400,000 (base price: $125,000) to Mohali, Steyn for $325,000 (base price: 150,000) to Bangalore, Kartik for $425,000 (base price: $200,000) to Kolkata, and Munaf for $275,000 (base price: $100,000) to Jaipur.

Other tradings in the eighth round: Nathan Bracken bought by Bangalore for $325,000 (base price: $225,000), Makhaya Ntini by Chennai for his base price of $200,000, Lasith Malinga by Mumbai for $350,000 ($200,000), Chaminda Vaas by Hyderabad for his base price of $200,000, Ramesh Powar by Mohali for $170,000 (base price: $150,000), Umar Gul by Kolkata for his base price of $150,000, Dilhara Fernando by Mumbai for his base price of $150,000, and Nuwan Zoysa by Hyderabad for $110,000 (base price: $100,000).

News comes in regarding Mohammad Yousuf. The matter was heard today before the Hon’ble Arbitrator Mr. Justice B. P. Saraf (Retd) and the tribunal has not vacated the stay on Yousuf from taking part in any other rival league of the Indian Cricket League, such as the IPL by any further orders.

As per the order of 15th December, 2007 Mohammad Yousuf is restrained from taking part in any other rival league of the ICL such as the IPL and to maintain status quo as of that date.

	VVS Laxman will captain the Hyderabad side © Getty Images

PK Iyer, the CEO of the Hyderabad franchise, praised the “incredible team spirit” of VVS Laxman, who, according to Iyer, had withdrawn his “icon” status for the Hyderabad team. The act now has given them a bigger budget for buying players.

Had Laxman become the icon player for Hyderabad, he would have got 15% more salary than the next-highest-priced cricketer. Moreover, Hyderabad have decided to make Laxman the captain of the side.

Iyer said: “He [Laxman] went ahead and gave up the icon status in the interest of the team. “He said, ‘I will keep the team ahead’. He said he wanted the team to have a larger budget and he said he didn’t mind not being an icon as long as he led Hyderabad.”

	Gautam Gambhir: Delhi's costliest player © Getty Images

One of the most competitive rounds of bidding, according to Lalit Modi, ended up rewarding India’s Twenty20 heroes – Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, and Gautam Gambhir – and also Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, and Manoj Tiwary. David Hussey was the surprising pick too in the round of batsmen.

Uthappa went for the highest price in the seventh round of bidding: grossing $800,000 (base price: $200,000) from Mumbai. Sharma went to Hyderabad for a sum of $750,000 (base price: $150,000), and Gambhir to home team Delhi for $725,000 (base price: $200,000). Delhi dished out $675,000 for Manoj Tiwary, whose base price was $100,000.

Uttar Pradesh’s Kaif and Raina drew a big purse too, Kaif getting $675,000 (base price: $125,000) from Jaipur and Raina $650,000 (same base price as Kaif) from Chennai.

Kolkata bought Hussey for $625,000, his base price being $125,000. Other players traded during this round: VVS Laxman by Hyderabad for $375,000 (base price: $150,000), Wasim Jaffer by Bangalore for his base price of $150,000, and Chamara Silva by Hyderabad for his base price of $100,000.

This was also the round during which many players stayed unsold: none of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ashwell Prince, and Loots Bosman inspired the buyers enough.

So who were the players that the franchises bid fiercely for? Mahendra Dhoni and Andrew Symonds, obviously, as their signing amounts of US$1.5m and US$1.35m respectively suggest. Lalit Modi said there was an intense bidding for the two. "Dhoni was bid across the table by every team, his went to every team. Symonds was bid pretty much all across too."

Modi also said he could not make out what was going through the minds of the bidders, and what their strategy was. "It all depends. Everybody is trying to build a team strategically. There are players whose price has gone up from a base price of US$100,000 to about US$475,000-US$500,000.

"Some players have gone surprisingly low, some have gone surprisingly very very high. The rationale is not for me to judge, it's for the team owners to judge."

	Irfan joins Lee at Mohali © Getty Images

Irfan Pathan was Mohali’s big pick for US$925,000, becoming their most expensive player after Yuvraj Singh, the icon player. Albie Morkel, Cameron White, and Yusuf Pathan were the other three allrounders who made big leaps from their base prices.

Morkel was bought by Chennai for US$675,000 (base price: US$225,000), White for US$500,000 by Bangalore (base price: US$100,000) and Yusuf for US$475,000 by Jaipur (base price: US$100,000). Interestingly Yusuf, who will be playing with Shane Warne in Jaipur, cost more than Warne. Scott Styris surprisingly didn’t draw any bidders for more than his base price, and went to Hyderabad for US$175,000.

The other allrounders picked during round six: Ajit Agarkar by Kolkata for US$350,000 (base price: US$200,000), Shaun Pollock by Mumbai for US$550,000 (base price: US$200,000), Farveez Maharoof by Delhi for US$225,000 (base price: US$150,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan by Delhi for US$250,000 (base price: US$150,000), and Joginder Sharma by Chennai for US$225,000 (base price: US$100,000).

Meanwhile, an interesting announcement from Andrew Symonds: He is likely to pull out of the Pakistan tour, which explains why he has attracted a far higher bid than Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden. Ponting went for US$400,000 and Hayden for US$375,000. Though Symonds' stand was made public after he had been signed on by Hyderabad, one wonders whether the franchises didn’t already know of it. That will explain to a large extent why the bidding for Symonds went as high as US$1.35m.

That said, Ponting and Hayden are not bad investments at all. Because if the Pakistan tour is cancelled, Kolkata and Chennai will have hit the jackpot. And if they are not available, or available for less than four matches, they will receive only 25% of their salary.

	Dinesh Karthik: the most expensive wicketkeeper outside the star-list © Getty Images

Dinesh Karthik proved to be the most expensive wicketkeeper outside the star ones - Dhoni, Gilchrist and McCullum. Delhi bought Karthik for US$525,000 (base price: US$200,000), and they bought AB de Villiers too, for US$300,000 (base price: US$200,000). de Villiers, it must be remembered, started off his international career as a wicketkeeper.

Chennai, too, bought a second wicketkeeper in Parthiv Patel for US$325,000 (base price: US$150,000). Kamran Akmal was bought by Jaipur for his reserve price of US$150,000. Tatenda Taibu, whose base price was US$125,000, didn't attract any buyers.

	Preity hushes up the media © Getty Images

Just the sight of Preity Zinta, who came out with Lalit Modi to make the latest announcements, sent the photographers into a frenzy. Cameras whirred, flashes went off without any signs of stopping. Modi requested them to stop after they had had enough so that he could go on with further announcements, but the photographers just wouldn’t stop. He finally lost his cool and threatened to not give any further updates, and that was when Zinta intervened.

“We have more rounds of bidding going on, so can you please co-operate?", she said. Then another “please” with a flashing smile. And as if she had turned off an imaginary switch, there was silence and Modi went on with his announcements peacefully.

Given the chaos out here, with about 200 (a conservative estimate) journalists in a cramped space fit for 75, it might not be such a bad idea to have Zinta accompany Modi every time and handle the media. It worked like a charm the last time.

	Jacques Kallis: on his way to Bangalore © Getty Images

The Bangalore franchise have bought Jacques Kallis for US$900,000. It means Rahul Dravid, their icon player, becomes the fifth cricketer to break the million-dollar barrier in four rounds of bidding so far. Chris Gayle became Kolkata’s highest successful bid - US$800,000 - meaning that Sourav Ganguly, their icon, would be worth at least US$920,000 now.

The other tradings in the fourth round: Stephen Fleming bought by Chennai for his base price of US$350,000, Graeme Smith by Jaipur for US$475,000, Herschelle Gibbs by Hyderabad for US$575,000, Shoaib Malik by Delhi for US$500,000, Shahid Afridi by Hyderabad for US$675,000, Younis Khan by Jaipur for his base price of US$225,000, Mohammad Asif by Delhi for US$650,000, Zaheer Khan by Bangalore for US$450,000, Sreesanth by Mohali for US$625,000.

Zaheer Khan might be a tricky buy for Bangalore, given his fitness worries: he has been out of action since the Boxing Day Test.

Next up for auction are: Stephen Fleming, Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Asif, Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Sreesanth

With Andrew Symonds grossing $1.35m, Mahendra Dhoni, with a whopping $1.5m paycheque from Chennai, looks likely to be the highest-priced cricketer before the day ends. That Chennai have no “icon” player - who by right will get 15 per cent more than the highest-paid cricketer – could have played a role in the high bid, and also that the Indians will make bigger brands. The question right now is: will anybody get more than Dhoni? Even Sachin Tendulkar?

Mumbai’s highest scalp right now is Sanath Jayasuriya – worth $975,000. Since they have procured Harbhajan Singh for $850,000, they can’t be going for another high-priced cricketer. They are now obliged to pay Tendulkar a minimum of $1,121,250 (115 per cent of what Jayasuriya is getting). If they pay Tendulkar the minimum stipulated amount, they would have spent $2,946,250 on three players alone. So it depends on what bargains they can work out with the rest of the squad how much more Mumbai can play Tendulkar.

Most likely, if somebody is to get a higher bid than Dhoni, the bid will have to come from a side that has no icon player. But it is open to doubt as to who will make a bigger brand-player combination than Dhoni. Currently Virender Sehwag stands a chance of outearning Dhoni, if the next best player picked by Delhi fetches more than $13.04m

	Andrew Symonds will join Adam Gilchrist in the Hyderabad franchise © Getty Images

Andrew Symonds became the second-most expensive player in the IPL, as Hyderabad bought him for US$1.35m (his base price being $250,000). The others picked in the third round of the bidding include: Brett Lee bought by Mohali for US$900,000 (base price: $300,000), Brendon McCullum bought by Kolkata for $700,000 (base price: $175,000), Jacob Oram bought by Chennai for $675,000 (base price: $200,000), Daniel Vettori bought by Delhi for $625,000 (base price: $250,000).

Ricky Ponting and Mathew Hayden didn’t draw too much of money, their tour to Pakistan could have had something to do with it. Ponting waw bought by Kolkata for $400,000 and Hayden by Chennai for $375,000.

Like McGrath and Yousuf, Mike Hussey didn’t find any takers, and will be sent into the reserve pool.

There are four men who have broken the million barrier by now: Dhoni, Symonds (both by the virtue of bid), Yuvraj and Tendulkar (both by the virtue of being the icon player, and getting 15 per cent more than the next best)

Squads as of now:

Jaipur Shane Warne (US$ 450,000), Graeme Smith (US$ 475,000), Younis Khan (US$ 225,000)

Chennai MS Dhoni (US$ 1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$ 600,00), Matthew Hayden (US$ 375,000), Jacob Oram (US$ 675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$ 350,000)

Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$ 975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$ 850,000)

Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$ 500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$ 900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$ 450,000)

Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist (US$ 700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$ 1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$ 575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$ 675,000)

Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$ 475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$ 700,000), Brett Lee (US$ 900,000), Sreesanth (US$ 625,000)

Kolkata Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$ 425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$ 400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$ 700,000), Chris Gayle (US$ 800,000)

Delhi Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$ 625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$ 500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$ 650,000)

	IS Bindra: "This is the second-most landmark event in the history of world cricket" © Getty Images

During the lunch break, while close to 100 people (agents, actors, CEOs, players etc) discussed events, IS Bindra, member of the IPL governing council, had interesting things to say.

He reckons he has not seen anything quite like this auction in 30 years of his association with cricket – even the on-field action has failed to excite him as much. He went on to praise the free-economy principle which helps the market determine the players’ price and not the selectors or selection committees. But in the same breath he had to wish there was no monopoly on the access to what was happening inside. “I really wish you could have seen it live,” Bindra told reporters.

“It’s my privilege to be associated with something that is unique in world cricket. I have never seen anything so riveting and so absorbing and so exciting even on the field. It’s amazing drama.”

He was pretty optimistic about how the IPL has kickstarted. “The way IPL is coming up, and the overwhelming media presence is a sign that IPL has taken off.”

Only time will tell if Bindra got carried away a bit in saying this: “We are taking domestic cricket to an altogether new plane. This is a milestone in the history of Indian cricket, the biggest landmark event since 1994 when we had the wave freed from the clutches of Doordarshan’s monopoly … This is the second-most landmark event in the history of world cricket.”

Incidentally the Duleep Trophy final is on in Mumbai, in which Rajat Bhatia and Yashpal Singh are leading North Zone’s revival against West Zone. Now that’s Indian domestic cricket.

	Sanath Jayasuriya: bought by Mumbai for just a shade below a million dollars © Getty Images

Mumbai entered the fray in the second round of bidding, picking up Sanath Jayasuriya for US$975,000 (his base price was US$250,000) and Harbhajan Singh for US$850,000 (base price US$250,000).

It means Sachin Tendulkar has become the second player after Mahendra Singh Dhoni to cross the million-dollar mark. As an icon he will stand to earn 15% more than the most paid player in the franchise (Jayasuriya) - which translates to US$1.12 million.

The other players who were picked in the second round of bidding were: Anil Kumble by Bangalore for US$ 500,000 (base price: US$250,000) and Kumar Sangakkara by Mohali for US$700,000 (base price: US$250,000). So Sanga joins his friend and national captain Mahela Jayawardene - and their former coach Tom Moody.

Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Yousuf haven't found any takers so far, so they have gone into the reserve pool and will be picked later.

Everyone's now broken for lunch, back at 13-35 p.m.

Squads as of now:

Jaipur Shane Warne (US$450,000)

Chennai MS Dhoni (US$1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$600,000), Matthew Hayden (US$375,000), Jacob Oram (US$675,000)

Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$850,000)

Bangalore Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$500,000)

Hyderabad Adam Gilchrist (US$700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$1.35 million)

Mohali Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000), Brett Lee (US$900,000)

Kolkata Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$700,000)

Delhi Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$625,000)

The first signs are that Indian players, because they will be bigger brands, will be sought after more than the foreign players. There will be arguments over who out of Adam Gilchrist and Mahendra Dhoni is a more valuable pure cricketer in Twenty20. But Dhoni has been bought by Chennai for more than double the money Gilchrist has gone for, and he's accounted for 30% of Chennai's salary cap.

Shane Warne and Gilchrist are interestingly the first two Australians to be picked: they are both retired (or about to) and even if the Pakistan tour goes ahead, will be available to play in the IPL. The same could be true for Shoaib Akhtar, who is not on the best of terms with PCB.

On another note, Sourav Ganguly is now guaranteed 15% more than US$425,000 - that is what Kolkata paid for Shoaib Akhtar, and as an icon player Ganguly earns 15% more than the highest bid. It could even go up further.

It's Chennai who set the ball rolling by having US$2.1 million dollars on two players alone. Are these trends or are these unrelated, a clearer picture will emerge after the next few rounds.

	The million-dollar baby © Getty Images

The first hard news out - and it's big news. India's captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has been bought by the Chennai franchise for US$1.5 million. The other first picks: Adam Gilchrist has gone to Hyderabad for US$700,000, Muttiah Muralitharan to Chennai for US$600,000, Mahela Jayawardene to Mohali for US$475,000, Shane Warne to Jaipur for US$450,000 and Shoaib Akhtar to Kolkata for US$425,000. So Chennai has already spent US$2.1 million and grabbed two big names. It is unlikely that anyone will beat Dhoni's figure but in these times anything is possible.

11.35am

The auction for the players has finally got underway, late by just 35 minutes. Although the journalists around are trying the hardest to find out the reason for the delay, the organisers are blasé about it. “This is not a one-day international,” said one PR person. “People have come, they sat and relaxed for a while, and it is underway now.” So be it.

We have been told there will be regular updates of which player has been bought by who for how much. We have also been told this is expected to be approximately a 12-hour affair, I just added 35 minutes to the assignment. Wish I was being paid on an hourly basis.

Meanwhile, the process to decide what teams the biggest stars of world cricket today will be playing for has started not far away from us.

	Sourav Ganguly arrives for the IPL auction © Getty Images

"And there's a Duleep final going on behind," I said to Aakash Chopra as he walked out of the Wankhede Stadium after the first day's play of the Duleep Trophy final. I knew Chopra would see where I was coming from. "And there's a Duleep final going on," he echoed. We were seeing the sign of the times.

We were outside the BCCI office, the hub of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which you have to pass when you are coming out of the Wankhede Stadium. About 50 journalists, including camera-persons, more than the audience present at the Duleep match, had gathered outside the office because there was a private meeting going on to brief the franchises on how to go about with the bidding process supposed to start today.

Although a bit wary, the players are not grudging IPL the attention it is getting. It is an opportunity to earn money, financial security, and also play against international players at a bigger stage. Today could well be the most important day for what is supposed to be the "future" of cricket. The franchises will flex the money power today, and as long as they spend not more than US$5m and not less that US$3.3m they can buy any players from the list of 78 international players and from the domestic pool.

They will have to buy at least four players from their catchment area, and at least four Under-22 players. Even if they buy four U-22 cricketers from their catchment area, they will fulfil that stipulation.

All is set here at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai where the bidding will happen. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, and IS Bindra, the grounds and infrastructure chairman of the IPL, are already here. Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, TA Sekar, a bowling coach with the the MRF pace academy who is with the Delhi franchise, and VB Chandrashekhar, a selector with the Chennai franshise, are here too.

We are about 20 minutes from the starting of the bidding process, and we will bring to you live via this blog whatever we have access to, and whenever.