New Delhi [India], Jan 27: All of the cricket fraternity will come to a standstill when some of the world cricket's biggest names go under the hammer during the two-day IPL auction today with the likes of Ben Stokes and R Ashwin expected to be among the most sought after. This year's IPL Auction will feature 580 players in all with 361 of them being Indians. There are 16 top players awarded marquee status and a base price of Rs 2 crore with notable among them being Stokes, Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle, and Dwayne Bravo to name a few. There hasn't been an IPL auction of this magnitude since its inception in 2008.

A total of 26 players from England, 58 from Australia, 30 from New Zealand and 57 from South Africa have registered for the auction, taking the tally of overseas players to 282. Afghanistan too will see 13 players in the list while there are 39 from Sri Lanka and an equal number from the West Indies. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have 8 and 7 players hoping to go under the hammer.

The first player in today's auction, Shikhar Dhawan goes to Kings XI Punjab Rs 5.20 crore. There is drama here during auction. Sunrisers Hyderabad use the RTM (Right To Match) to retain Indian opening batsmen Dhawan. So Dhawan stays with Hyderabad. So the first set of marquee players will go under the hammer. The proceedings will start with Shikhar Dhawan. While Ashwin goes for Rs. 7.60 Crores to King XI Punjab while Kieron Pollard from West Indies RTM by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 5.40 Crores.