Stuart Broad eyes IPL contract

Having turned down an IPL contract in season-II for the sake of Ashes, England paceman Stuart Broad is now eyeing his maiden stint in Twenty20 tournament in its third edition next year.

Broad's representative is in touch with the IPL Chairman Lalit Modi and he may be included in the list of players on sale at the third IPL auction in January, provided he gets the nod of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"We have had contact from Craig Sackfield (Broad's agent) and all players now have to write to me directly and arrange an NOC (no objection certificate) from their board by December 31," Modi said.

"Then we will fix a minimum bid price and circulate their names to the franchises. A lot of the slots are taken but teams will probably be able to hire one or two players," Modi was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph.

Broad had turned down an Indian Premier League offer this year to prepare for the Ashes series, which they won against Australia. If Broad earns a contract, the British cricketers would miss initial days of the tournament since he will on national duty.

"The England players in Bangladesh will miss the first 10 days but the Australians and New Zealanders are unavailable until much later. So that's not a problem. There is a good chance of a lot of England players being involved," Modi said.

Meanwhile, Sackfield also confirmed the move. "I have made initial contact as regards to all of my players, Luke Wright, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. We just want to see what the situation is and what they have to do," he said.

The 23-year-old cricketer is in Cape Town and expressed his intent to be a part of the show-piece event next year. "The IPL is something I'd like to play in at some stage. Whether I do it this year, I'm not sure. I've not given it too much thought," Broad was quoted as saying by the daily.