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The first tournament

Twenty20 cricket has entered a new phase, with a historic player auction for the new Indian Premier League being held in early 2008. The highest bid of $1.74 million (AUS$) was for the Indian one-day captain MS Dhoni and not far behind was Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who went for almost $1.5 million. Below are the top 20 player prices. This bid represents the annual pay for that player, with a 3-year contract guaranteed by the Indian cricket board.

Four players were not part of the auction, the IPL nominated four "icon" players - team captains - who were not up for auction: Ganguly (Kolkata), Yuvraj (Mohali), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) and Rahul Dravid (Bangalore). They will earn 15 per cent more than the highest-paid player at their club.

The inaugural IPL Twenty20 tournament started on 18 April 2008 and lasted for 44 days.

Top 20 player prices (approx. Australian $ values)

1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India) $1.74m - going to Chennai
2. Andrew Symonds (Australia) $1.47m - going to Hyderabad
3. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) $1.06m - going to Mumbai
4. Ishant Sharma (India) $1.03m - going to Kolkata
5. Irfan Pathan (India) $1.01m - going to Mohali
6. Brett Lee (Australia) $982,000 - going to Mohali
6. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) $982,000 - going to Bangalore
8. RP Singh (India) $952,745 - going to Hyderabad
9. Harbhajan Singh (India) $927,000 - going to Mumbai
10. Chris Gayle (West Indies) $871,000 - going to Kolkata
10. Robin Uthappa (India) $871,000 - going to Mumbai
12. Rohit Sharma (India) $817,000 - going to Hyderabad
13. Gautam Gambhir (India) $789,000 - going to Delhi
14. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) $764,000 - going to Kolkata
14. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) $764,000 - going to Mohali
14. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) $764,000 - going to Hyderabad
17. David Hussey (Australia) $735,000 - going to Kolkata
17. Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) $735,000 - going to Hyderabad
17. Jacob Oram (New Zealand) $735,000 - going to Chennai
17. Albie Morkel (South Africa) $735,000 - going to Chennai
17. Mohammad Kaif (India) $735,000 - going to Jaipur
17. Manoj Tiwary (India) $735,000 - going to Delhi

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