Morgan, Van der Dussen among five late entrants for IPL auction

Eoin Morgan is among five late entrants into the IPL auction, with the England limited-overs skipper joining nine other players with the highest base price of INR 2 Crore. Rassie van der Dussen of South Africa and uncapped Australian Riley Meredith are the other two overseas inclusions, while Mayank Dagar and Pranav Gupta are the two Indians added to the list of players to be auctioned on Tuesday (December 18).

With the latest inclusions, a total of 351 cricketers - 228 Indians and 123 overseas players - will go under the hammer. A total of 70 slots are available with a maximum of 50 Indian players and 20 overseas players allowed to be picked in the upcoming auction for the 2019 edition of the IPL.

Van der Dussen, the star performer in the recently-concluded Mzansi Super League, scored three successive unbeaten half-centuries - including one in Jozi Stars' title victory - and finished the tournament as the highest run-getter with 469 runs in 11 innings at an average of 58.62 and a strike rate of 138.75, with four fifties. Part of the original long list, Van der Dussen enters the auction with a base price of INR 50 Lakh.

Meredith, a 22-year-old right-arm pacer who has played only two T20s for Hobart Hurricanes, has a base price of INR 40 Lakh. Dagar, an allrounder who was with Kings XI Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir batsman Gupta, are among the list of players with the lowest base price of INR. 20 Lakh.

Morgan has been part of four IPL teams, with his last IPL appearance coming in 2017 for Kings XI Punjab, before going unsold for the 2018 edition. Morgan is among 19 England players who are part of the latest auction, along with the likes of Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes, but it remains to be seen if there'll be any takers for the England skipper considering that they will have to return to UK towards the end of April ahead of the World Cup preparations.