After serving out his five-month suspension by the BCCI on the grounds of a doping violation, former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan is set to be available at the forthcoming IPL auction for Rs 75 lakhs. The BCCI, which had told Yusuf not to play for Baroda in the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy, released a statement. On Tuesday revealing that the 35-year old had "inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups".

The BCCI has back-dated the suspension from August 15, 2017, effectively meaning it will end on January 14, 2018. The IPL auction is scheduled for January 27 &28 in Bangalore. Yusuf Pathan played for the Rajathan Royals in IPL from 2008 to 2010, before he joined the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011. Yusuf's brother, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who went unsold in the last auction, has kept his base price at Rs 50 lakhs. "Yusuf has been amongst the most successful middle-order batsmen in the IPL, while Irfan has been one of the most prolific allrounders in the league. The franchises are likely to gun for them," said a source.

While it's confirmed that veteran players Gautam Gambhir and off- spinner Harbhajan Singh have set their base price at Rs 2 crore, the others who're likely to figure in the top bracket are India leg spin option Yuzvendra Chahal, star bat and current discard Yuvraj Singh, West Indians Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, and Kiwi great Brendon McCullum.