MUMBAI, India (CMC) - West Indies batsman, Chris Gayle, is joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a US$800,000 contract and his international teammates, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, have also been drafted into the league.

Several of the world's top cricketers were purchased by the IPL's eight franchises at an auction yesterday, with India's Mahendra Dhoni being the most expensive at US$1.5 million.

The inaugural Twenty20 tournament - to be played over a month-and-a-half - begins on April 18 and will have 59 matches.

Teams will pay the winning bid to the player annually and the contracts are for a three-year period.

Gayle was drafted by the Kolkata franchise, while Mohali will pay US$225,000 for Sarwan and z signed Chanderpaul for US$200,000.

The contracts are guaranteed by the Indian cricket board. The IPL is the brainchild of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is backed by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

It was conceived to counter the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), which recently held its tournament in northern India with big names like West Indies batting star Brian Lara and Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Gayle's teammates at Kolkata will include Indian Sourav Ganguly, Australia's captain Ricky Ponting, and Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who fetched US$425,000. Ponting cost Kolkata US$400,000.

Chanderpaul's Bangalore will include home players Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, and the South African batting all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who is costing the franchise US$900,000.

Mohali's roster is set to include Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000) and Indian pacer Irfan Pathan (US$925,000).

Pathan is the fifth most expensive player from yesterday's auction behind Dhoni, Australian Andrew Symonds, who goes to Hyderabad for US$1.35 million, Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya (Mumbai) at US$975,000, and the Indian fastbowler Ishant Sharma (Kolkata) at US$950,000.

"It is amazing drama. The market is determining the price. That's how a free market economy should flow," Inderjit Bindra, a member of the IPL governing council, told reporters.

The Mumbai franchise, which has icon Sachin Tendulkar as the designated city player, is owned by India's most valuable company Reliance Industries, and apart from paying US$975,000 for Jayasuriya they are also putting up US$850,000 for India spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Tendulkar, at a cost of US$1.12 million for Mumbai, is one of five Indian players designated icon status with high prices.
The others are Kolkata's Ganguly (US$1.09 million), Mohali's Yuvraj Singh (US$1.06 million), Dravid (US$1.03 million) of Bangalore, and Delhi's Virender Sehwag (US$833,750).