Nine international cricketers including Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Brett Lee have opted to play for their IPL frachisees instead of their home teams in the Champions League Twenty20 scheduled next month.
Champion domestic teams from a record eight countries will chase the USD 2.5 million first prize from a total pool (including participation fees) of USD 13 million, the organisers said in a statement.
"The fourth edition of the Champions League Twenty20 is only a few weeks away. The squads that will be playing in the tournament speak for themselves. They comprise the finest cricketing talent on this planet," said N. Srinivasan, chairman, CLT20 governing council.
"We are in for some extraordinary cricket, in what will surely be a thriller of a competition."
Kieron Pollard, Mike Hussey, the Morkel brothers (Albie and Morne), Sunil Narine and Mike Hussey were among the nine players named initially by more than one squad which required each player to nominate the team they would play for.
All players chose to play for their 'away' team. So, Pollard will turn up for the Mumbai Indians instead of his home team of Trinidad and Tobago while Brett Lee (Sydney Sixers) will be in action for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
"Last year's tournament showed the fine line between making the finals and early elimination. Given the high stakes and small margin for error in the Qualifier and Group Stage, some of world cricket's biggest names who are eligible for more than one team have been in high demand," said Dean Kino, CLT20 Governing Council member and director of Legal and Business Affairs.
"According to CLT20 rules, if a player qualifies for more than one team, all those qualifying teams can nominate that player.
"When a player decides to play for an 'away' team rather than his 'home' team, the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket, the 'away' team must pay USD 150,000 compensation to the 'home' team," he added.