New Delhi: Already under severe pressure to retain his place in the Test squad, VVS Laxman’s IPL career may just come to a halt as none of the nine franchises are keen on roping in the senior batsman as a full-time player.

Laxman, who was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala at a price of $400,000 during the last edition, will again go under the hammer along with fellow India players like Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh, Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene and Muttiah Muralitharan.

While there would be a fight among the teams for Jadeja whose game suits the shortest format, Laxman looks like one of the bigger names who might just miss out.

“This auction won’t be a full-fledged one. The franchises have $2 million purse and teams like Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors will come to the auction with even lesser money. All the owners will be very choosy about the players they will be zeroing on. I don’t see Laxman fitting into the scheme of things,” an IPL official said on Monday.

New Delhi : Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been retained by Pune Warriors ahead of Indian Premier League’s (IPL) fifth edition.

Ganguly, who was ignored at the 2011 Players’ Auction in January 2011, came into the Pune franchise as a mid-season replacement for injured Ashish Nehra. He will be part of the team as a player and mentor.

The 39-year-old is reported to have been retained for $400,000, his base price in the last edition.

“He (Ganguly) has been one of India’s greatest and most inspirational cricketers. We have no doubt that his presence in the team will boost our prospects in the IPL, and motivate the boys to excel themselves,” Pune Warriors director Abhijit Sarkar said in a statement Saturday.

Ganguly retired from international cricket in 2008 but has been a regular feature in the domestic events. He played for Bengal in the current edition of Ranji Trophy before flying Down Under for commentating in the ongoing India-Australia series. He also captained Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL’s 2008 and 2010 edition.

A replacement player last season, explosive West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has now been drafted into the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the coming two editions of the Indian Premier League.

Gayle joined RCB for the 2011 IPL as a replacement for Australian Dirk Nannes.

He went on to win the the Orange Cap for being the highest scorer in that edition and also played for RCB in the Champions League Twenty20 after being a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.

Chris Gayle”We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. His form helped us qualify for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament,” Siddhartha Mallya, Director, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, said in a statement.

New Delhi: England offspinner Graeme Swann has attracted the highest reserve price of $400,000 ahead of the IPL players’ auction, to be held in Bangalore on February 4. The IPL Governing Council has shortlisted 183 players for the upcoming auction, including 25 Zimbabweans but leaving no room for players from Pakistan. Players from the Kochi Tuskers franchise will be included at a later date.

Swann’s England team-mate James Anderson and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who was in December ruled out of action for an expected period of five to six months, were placed in the $300,000 bracket. Former Australian spinners Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill and former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood – now an England resident – may not have played international cricket for four years but they are one of 25 names to attract reserve prices of $100,000.

The list featured 120 capped players, with Zimbabwe having the highest number (25) followed by West Indies (22), Sri Lanka (21), Australia and South Africa (15) and England and New Zealand (1).

Peter Siddle, Matt Prior, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright, Rikki Clarke and Vernon Philander were all valued at a reserve price of $200,000. Hogg, MacGill and Mahmood will be joined in the $100,000 bracket by Xavier Doherty, Adam Voges, Jade Dernbach, Simon Jones, Kyle Mills, Justin Kemp, Robin Peterson, Alviro Petersen, Morne van Wyk, Imran Tahir, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Smith, Ravi Rampaul, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Darren Bravo, Brendan Taylor, and the uncapped Ben Cutting and Tom Maynard.

New Delhi: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar Monday refuted suggestions that the the technique of the Indian batsmen has been affected due to slam-bang approach in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Almost all the Indian batsmen, inluding some seniors, struggled on the pacy and bouncy pitches of Australia as they lacked technique to negotiate the disciplined rival attack.

Asked if technique has been compromised by playing in the IPL, where the players need to go after the attack, Gavaskar replied in a negative.

“I don’t think so that for batting style, IPL should be blamed. These cricketers have scored a lot of runs in the Ranji, which is first class cricket and then they are selected to play for India at Test level.

Mumbai : Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha Saturday joined Mumbai Indians after four seasons with Deccan Chargers for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting April 4.

Ojha, who is currently with the Test team in Australia, is the sixth player to be transferred during the 2102 trading window. Ojha won the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker in the 2010 edition of the league.

Mumbai Indians’ co-owner Nita Ambani said Ojha’s addtion would bolster the bowling department.

“With a spinner of Pragyan Ojha’s competence, we fortify our bowling department that has won us many matches in the past seasons. Pragyan Ojha is a player of great international repute, and we welcome him with much excitement,” said Nita.