Setting aside any perceived reservations, all the Indian cricketers who are contracted to the Cricket Board have signed up for the BCCI-promoted multi-million dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) set to commence on April 18 at Bangalore.
"All the 33 Indian cricketers have signed up. From the list of names of cricketers from all countries released so far only a handful, less than ten, are yet to sign on the dotted line, and even they are expected to do so before the deadline," IPL sources said on Monday.
"Barring a few Australians, all have signed up and the list of names includes captain Ricky Ponting, wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and all-rounder Andrew Symonds," they added.
Most of those international cricketers who have been shortlisted by the Lalit Modi-headed IPL Governing Council have signed up with less than 48 hours to go before the players' auction, to be held in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Each team should have a minimum of 16 players out of which four should be local players, including an iconic cricketer, and four below the age of 22. Only four out of any number of overseas signtories can be in a playing eleven.
The Twenty20 tournament featuring eight city-based franchises, who have shelled out more than $ 723 million to buy the teams from the BCCI, will see 44 days of action, on mid-week and on week-ends, in eight cities with the teams playing each other on home-and-away basis.
The 59-match event, including two semi-finals and a grand final here, is set to conclude on June 1.
