Several front-line Australian players, including captain Ricky Ponting [Images] and all-rounder Andrew Symonds [Images], have been roped in by the BCCI for its new Twenty20 domestic tournament -- the Indian Premier League, the Australian media reported on Sunday.

"The BCCI has paid more than USD 2 million to recruit an extensive list of Australia's top cricketers -- Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee [Images], Nathan Bracken [Images], Michael Hussey, Adam Gilchrist [Images], Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden [Images] and Mitchell Johnson," according to reports.

Retired greats Shane Warne [Images], Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer have also joined the IPL, while Simon Katich and Jason Gillespie have been included too.

"Player agent Neil Maxwell will present the Australian stars' signed contracts to BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, who is representing the IPL Board, in Dubai today," the report said.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland and operations manager Michael Brown are also in Dubai to discuss how the structure of the Twenty20 tournament will work.

As per the IPL format, India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand [Images] will stage their domestic Twenty20 tournaments and the top two teams from each country will qualify for the Champions League, the final leg of the tournament.

The players will also be bought up and sold among the owners of the IPL franchises, who will pay the players to not only play, but for promotions and marketing.

The revolutionary new concept not only offers players the chance to increase their incomes but also reaffirms India's money power in world cricket.

"We have to understand India are still the powerbrokers in cricket. Sixty per cent of all cricket-related revenue comes out of India. I think everyone knows that and understands that. It's about growing the game; making the game as good as possible around the world," Ponting said.

"Australia goes there a lot. We want to keep going there. We want to make the game grow around the world. As long as they have the same beliefs, everything will be fine," he added.

However, IPL is facing the problem of timings clashing with the ICC's [Images] tours programme and representation of the Australians in the event that both Indian franchise and their home state qualify for the Champions Twenty20 League.

Cricket New South Wales Chief Executive David Gilbert has said that possible clashes were a concern for each of the states.

"We're still very much at the thrashing-out stage, but I've been led to believe that if that happens, someone like Brett Lee's first commitment would be to his home state," Gilbert said.

"These sorts of things must be spelt out at the start, so there can't be any grey areas. It would be good to get this worked out as soon as possible."