Ashes stars set for bumper IPL auction

Australia's leading lights look set to reap the rewards of the most lucrative Indian Premier League auction ever, which will be held in Bangalore on January 27 and 28.

With a new broadcast rights deal worth $AUD 3.2 billion and a salary cap increase of 20 per cent, the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and David Warner can all expect handsome salaries should they make themselves available.

England's Ben Stokes was sold for $AUD 2.8 million last year to become the event's highest-paid foreigner, while Shane Warne holds the Australian record after being picked up for $2.01m in 2011.

But those figures are expected to be eclipsed with franchises now able to shell out a maximum of $A16.28m on their squads - ten times the KFC Big Bash League cap.

The international calendar isn't as cramped as usual in 2018, meaning more Australians may be tempted to play in India's Twenty20 gala during their official leave period.

Third Test star Mitch Marsh will be among the few to forgo the IPL riches, having already signed with county side Surrey as he bids to find form in English conditions ahead of the 2019 Magellan Ashes.

AAP has reported that Starc, a free agent who played no part in the past two IPL tournaments, is expected to enter the auction.

The left-armer, widely regarded as one of the best white-ball bowlers in the world, could potentially earn three times the $973,000 he was bought for by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014.

Hazlewood has skipped the past three editions of the IPL but he too is understood to be mulling a potential return, with several clubs having already expressed an interest.

Cummins is likely to return. Smith, who is on the hunt for a new home after Rising Pune Supergiant's axing, and Warner captained their respective franchises this year.

"More than the money, I believe the best thing the IPL offers me - and any other player for that matter - is the ability to learn on the job in high-pressure situations," Smith wrote in his recently-released biography The Journey.

"The money is excellent ... (but) the players involved earn every cent."

The increased salary cap is also likely to present opportunities for standout players from the KFC Big Bash League, with 21 Australians taking part in IPL 2017.

"It'd be huge, everyone wants to play in the IPL," Perth Scorchers and Australia T20 quick Jason Behrendorff said recently.

"You chat to all the guys in the Big Bash who have done it or are aspiring to do it and they say how great a competition it is, how much fun it is, the people they get to meet and the crowds they play in front of.

"It's an experience I'd love to have. You never know."

The England and Wales Cricket Board is expected to clear a window that allows some contracted stars to feature in the IPL instead of the early rounds of their county season.

As part of an increasingly open approach to the IPL, the ECB earlier this year allowed Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes to remain in India for the lucrative T20 tournament instead of representing their country in a one-day international series against Ireland.

Limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, along with Sam Billings and Jason Roy, were all recalled from their respective IPL franchises for the two-match series.

Stokes lived up to his hefty price tag after being named the Most Valuable Player of IPL 2017, having struck 316 runs and collecting 12 wickets.

The IPL season will finish on May 31. Australia's next commitment is an ODI series in England that starts on June 13.