Big surprise that no one picked Ganguly: Wasim Akram

The snub to Sourav Ganguly in the IPL players’ auction 2011 shocked his former team KKR bowling coach Wasim Akram, who said he expected any of the other franchises to pick the former India skipper for his "experience and leadership qualities".

In a major discomfiture for Ganguly, he was not picked by his home team Kolkata Knight Riders or any of the other franchises after two rounds of bidding last week.

"Sourav is a dear friend of mine. I thought he would be picked up by some franchise for his experience and leadership qualities. But it was a big surprise when he was totally ignored," Akram told 'Mobile ESPN' from Karachi, hinting that KKR never had plans to hire the Prince of Kolkata.

If the ignore to Ganguly shocked Akram, the former Pakistan captain was more shocked when there were no takers for dashing West Indian batsman Chris Gayle.

"I just can't believe it. Gayle is a game-changer but probably never fit the scheme of things for many teams. Maybe, teams think that Gayle does not help youngsters in the side," said Akram.

IPL players' auctions to be held in Bangalore on Jan 8 & 9

The much-awaited IPL players' auction will be held in Bangalore on January 8 and 9 and will see over 400 players going under the mallet, according to sources.

"The auction is to be held in Bangalore and a total of 416 playes would go under the auctioner's hammer," IPL sources said.

Under the Indian Premier Leaque Player Regulations, each of the founding franchises could retain up to four players in advance of the player auction - against fixed deductions from the USD 9 million salary cap.

Only Chennai Super Kings, the 2010 champions, and runners-up Mumbai Indians have retained the full complement of players.

CSK have retained skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel. MI held on to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Kieron Pollard.

By retains four players, MI and CSK are each left with only USD 4.5m to spend either in the auction or in buying Ranji players outside the auction.

Delhi Daredevils retained blustering opener Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals decided to keep their two Australian stars Shane Warne and Shane Watson.

Rajasthan Royals will have USD 5.9 mn available to spend while Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will each have a balance of USD 7.2mn available. The remaining franchises have the full USD 9mn available to spend.