Before the players goes under the hammer in Chennai, here are a few batsmen who are expected to pique the interest of the franchises on Thursday.
Photos of the Indian Premier League match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Tuesday
A poor showing by Misbah-ul- Haq, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Shane Watson and Lasith Malinga also cost their teams dear in previous editions of the Twenty20 marquee event.
Factbox on the third Test between Australia and South Africa, which begins on Friday.
Factbox on the second Test between Australia and South Africa, which begins on Thursday.
Rajasthan Royals has had a controversial tenure in their six seasons in the Indian Premier League but their new captain Shane Watson feels it would have been a "shame" if the champions of the inaugural year were barred from playing in the seventh edition.
Axed Australian vice-captain, Shane Watson has cooled on retirement threats as he has made himself available for the Ashes and is also likely to return for the fourth and final Test against India in Delhi, starting next Friday, report in the Australian media said.
Suspended Australia vice-captain Shane Watson received the backing of former skipper Rickie Ponting on Thursday as crisis surrounding the team rumbled on.
Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott criticised Australian coach Mickey Arthur for treating the players like "school children" and said he finds the idea of setting the cricketers written tasks as "childlike".
Sacked Australian vice-captain Shane Watson got the backing of former opening batsman Matthew Hayden while ex-captain Ricky Ponting refused comment on the unprecedented dumping of four key players from the team for the third Test against India.
Australia coach Mickey Arthur on Wednesday said the controversial decision to axe four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, for the third Test against India was "a culmination of lots of small minor indiscretions".
Australian skipper Michael Clarke says the disrespectful attitude of the four players was "the straw that broke the camel's back" but believes that Shane Watson can still comeback to the side as vice-captain.
Former cricketers such as Dean Jones and Michael Vaughan on Monday reacted sharply to the exclusion of four Australian cricketers, which includes vice-captain Shane Watson, from the side for the third Test against India starting Thursday.
Pace legend Glenn McGrath feels sacked Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur's allegations of facing racial discrimination and having to deal with a divided team are "pretty poor" and show that he is "not too concerned" about the side he mentored.
Rajasthan Royals' chief coach Paddy Upton has backed Australian all-rounder Shane Watson to succeed the just-retired Rahul Dravid as captain. He says the franchise would want to retain the former India skipper in some capacity.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, lively and full of fun, joined Imran Tahir and Shane Watson's sons for a playful run at M A Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland on Wednesday backed the team management that had axed four players, including then vice-captain Shane Watson, ahead of the Mohali Test against India in March on grounds of breach of discipline.
Dhoni and Raina accumulated runs in singles and twos early in the partnership, then accelerated the scoring after the 10th over.
Terming Shane Watson's 70-run knock off just 34 balls as "extraordinary", Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said that the Aussie all-rounder changed the complexion of the game in just four to five overs.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings in Jaipur, on Sunday.
Images from the IPL played between Rajasthan vs Hyderabad on Saturday.
Australian middle-order batsman, Usman Khawaja received an Ashes berth, and, opener Phillip Hughes was also lucky to retain his spot in the squad, after a poor performance in India.
Shane Watson admitted on Wednesday he had suffered a "really disappointing" Ashes series and accepted his days of opening for his country were numbered.
All-rounder Shane Watson, who has been named Australia's stand-in skipper on Friday, said that leading the national team is like a dream come true and admitted he was mentally preparing for the job as soon as he landed in New Delhi for the fourth and final Test.
Shane Watson will captain Australia in the fourth and final Test against India in Delhi on Friday after Michael Clarke was withdrawn from the match with a back injury.
Amid fears of possible backlash in Australia's already vulnerable team culture in the wake of the 'homework-gate', former Test selector John Benaud has advised captain Michael Clarke to quit as a selector immediately.
Former skipper Steve Waugh has urged current captain Michael Clarke and his deputy Shane Watson to sort out their differences for the betterment of Australian cricket.
Under-fire Cricket Australia performance chief, Pat Howard, has offered to make peace with the sacked Australian vice-captain Shane Watson who had hit back after the former questioned his commitment to the national side.
The struggling Australian cricketers have been offered professional counselling to prepare well for the third Test against India and come to terms with the axing of four teammates, including vice- captain Shane Watson.
After 24 hours of the most withering abuse directed at Australia's management for excluding Shane Watson and three other cricketers from the Test team, the tide turned on Wednesday with a flurry of support for the "line in the sand".
The quartet of Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Johnson doesn't deserve an ounce of sympathy for their disgraceful behaviour that led to their sacking from the squad facing India in the third Test match in Mohali, according to sports journalist Peter Badel.
A day after the shocking suspension of four key players, Australian skipper Michael Clarke is confident that there will no backlash against him from the dumped players, who, he says, understand the reasons for this "harsh" decision.
Australia captain Michael Clarke played an impeccable straight bat on Wednesday to a barrage of questions about the abrupt dismissal of former coach Mickey Arthur and suggestions of a rift in the touring side.
Australian bowlers were smashed all over the park by Indian batsmen, especially Virat Kohli, but visiting skipper George Bailey said he is not disappointed by their performance as they stuck to the team's plan in the sixth cricket One-dayer in Nagpur.
Te MVP of IPL 11, after Week 4, is young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
Chennai Super Kings will look to continue their winning streak when they lock horns with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in Mohali, on Sunday.
Ajinkya Rahane continued his sparkling form as he struck a 54-ball unbeaten 91 to help Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs and bounce back from a five-match winless streak in the IPL.
Conceding that the T20 call up against India came as a 'pleasant surprise', Australian all-rounder Shane Watson on Monday said his familiarity with Indian cricket through IPL helped him in reviving his faltering international career. After being dropped from the ODI side post last year's series against England, Watson had nearly given up hope on his international career, concentrating more on domestic T20 cricket like the Big Bash League. The 34-year-old batting all-rounder believes his performance for Sydney Thunder turned the tide in his favour. "Yes, it came as a pleasant surprise to me. In the end it just came down to doing well for Sydney Thunder in BBL and whatever happened from there from the Aussie side of things, because after being dropped from the One-day side I knew my international days are nearly over, so nice to get that surprise and get the call from Rod Marsh on Sunday," he added.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of Sunday's second one-day international against Sri Lanka due to calf soreness, the country's cricket board said on Saturday.
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