Eugeneson Lyngdoh and defender Anas Edathodika's base price will begin from Rs 1.10 crore as bidding for the fourth edition of the Indian Super League is all set to begin on Sunday.
Indian midfield star Eugeneson Lyngdoh and defender Anas Edathodika are most likely to be the top picks at the draft for the fourth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) that will commence in November.
Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sandesh Jhingan and CK Vineeth have already been retained by their former sides. While Chhetri and Udanta Singh have been retained by Bengaluru FC, Jeje by Chennaiyin FC and Jhingan has been retained by Kerala Blasters.
Bidding for Eugeneson and Anas will begin at a base price of Rs 1.10 crore, according to reliable sources. Other top rated players available at the auction include Subrata Paul, Pritam Kotal, Robin Singh and Arindam Bhattacharya.
Considering another new regulation that will allow only five foreign players in the playing 11 opposed to the previous limit of six, goalkeepers Paul and Bhattacharya could attract attention from teams who would want to keep most of their foreigners in the outfield.
New entrants Jamshedpur FC and Delhi Dynamos, who did not use the option of retaining players, will face a daunting task of building their squads from scratch. Both the teams will have to pick the entire domestic component of their squads keeping the financial limits in mind when the players' draft is held in Mumbai on Sunday.
Eight of the nine teams in the league have made the most of the retention regulation for the season by signing 22 domestic players. Delhi Dynamos, meanwhile, have chosen to build their squad anew.
The players' draft draw will have 15 rounds and Jamshedpur have been allowed to pick first in the two starting rounds while Delhi Dynamos will be second to pick in the opening round.
FC Pune City, who have retained only one senior player, will join the bidding in the second round. Six more clubs will join the players' draft from the third round and Chennaiyin FC will come in during the fourth round having additionally retained Jerry Lalrinzuala in the under-21 category.
The league will allow a minimum of 15 and maximum of 18 Indian players in the squad, including the mandatory inclusion of two under-21 players. The total strength of a team would be 25, in which a minimum of seven foreign players must be included.
Every team will also have to adhere to a set budget of Rs 18 crore of which a maximum of Rs 12.5 crore may be utilized for the salaries of foreign players. With the bulk of the amount getting used to recruit foreign stars, teams will have to use the remaining amount judiciously to draft good domestic players.