Young India sign on the dotted line

The biggest hurdle for the Indian Premier League has finally been cleared.

The biggest hurdle for the Indian Premier League IPL has finally been cleared. All the Indian cricketers 8212; those currently on tour to Australia and those who were part of the World Twenty20 team 8212; have signed on the dotted line and will be available for auction.

The players had been adopting a wait-and-watch policy over the last couple of weeks, where a few had issues with the money being offered while others were simply dejected for having not been given the icon status. 8220;They have agreed to the conditions and are convinced that the 5million cap on each team8217;s spending capacity will ensure that there is a fair balance when the auction begins,8221; an IPL official said.

There was a further boost for IPL, when on the same day news came in that eight Australians 8212; Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken 8212; had also signed up. 8220;Their contracts have reached us,8221; the official said.

Speculation had been rife over the kind of money being paid to the Aussies in comparison with the pay packets of players such as Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Sreesanth, RP Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag 8212; all T20 championship stars. However, it has been learnt now that the Aussies 8212; except for the likes of Shane Warne, Gilchrist and Ponting, will be paid on the same lines as their Indian counterparts.

As of now, Warne and MS Dhoni are the costliest cricketers, who will be floated on the auction window at a starting price of approximately 400,000. Others like Ponting and Gilchrist have been priced somewhere between 275,000 and 300,000. Indian cricketers 8212; apart from the four icon players 8212; have been priced in the range of 150,000 to 175,000, which is also the amount being offered to other top players such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Chris Gayle and Mark Boucher.

Meanwhile, there is a discussion still on between team owners and IPL to include Sehwag and VVS Laxman as icon players.