For once, South Indian superpowers didn’t make news for having invested in the coolest of IT spots. Nor did they make it for the latest Chiranjeevi or Rajnikanth blockbuster.

They may not have been allotted an icon player, but the two franchises made the big ripples — and a lot of wise decisions — not just by grabbing Andrew Symonds and MS Dhoni in their teams, but also by making several other wise picks.

Apart from Symonds, Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi, Hyderabad also boasts of players such as Herschelle Gibbs and Scott Styris in the team – among the most destructive batsmen in the shorter version of the game. VVS Laxman – who hails from the city – will lead the team. Put them all together and it gives Hyderabad a stunning batting lineup, more impressive than any other outfit in the mix.

Chennai, however, comes a close second. Dhoni will have the likes of Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Michael Hussey and Stephen Fleming in the team, and Makhaya Ntini and Muttiah Muralitharan, who have come at bargain prices to lead the bowling attack.

In fact, they bid so aggresively that they went over the US 5m cap, but that is not a problem as some of the players, who were on the unavailable list, only have to be paid 25 per cent of the bid amount.

Better than the rest

Should the two teams clash with each other, India’s cricket-crazy television audience will have a classic contest of Chaminda Vaas bowling to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Mathew Hayden, and of Muttiah Muralitharan testing the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs.

“It can be easily said that Chennai and Hyderabad have chosen their players well, at least better than the rest. They have pocketed a few good deals for a very cheap price. It left everybody in the auction room stunned when they pocketed the likes of Styris, Vaas, Hayden and Ntini for such cheap prices. They bid for Murali as if he had told them specifically he only wanted to play for Chennai where his in-laws live,” says one franchise team member who was bidding on Wednesday.

There are a few other tantalising lineups — Mumbai, for example, where Sachin Tendulkar could open the batting with Sanath Jayasuriya and Kolkata, where Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle will pepper the offside with boundaries.

But, as things stand, it’s Chennai and Hyderabad that the rest of the IPL will have to really watch out for.

Batsmen

Rahul Dravid Ind

S Chanderpaul WI

Wasim Jaffer Ind

Bowlers

Anil Kumble Ind

Zaheer Khan Ind

Nathan Bracken Aus

Dale Steyn SA

wicket-keeper

Mark Boucher SA

all-rounders

Jacques Kallis SA

Cameron White Aus

Batsmen

Sourav Ganguly Ind

David Hussey Aus

Ricky Ponting Aus

Bowlers

Ishant Sharma Ind

Shoaib Akhtar Pak

Murali Karthik Ind

Ajit Agarkar Ind

Umar Gul Pak

wicket-keepers

Tatenda Taibu Zim

B McCullum NZ

all-rounders

Chris Gayle WI

Batsmen

Suresh Raina Ind

Matthew Hayden Aus

Stephen Fleming NZ

Michael Hussey Aus

Bowlers

Makhaya Ntini SA

M Muralitharan SL

wicket-keepers

MS Dhoni Ind

Parthiv Patel Ind

all-rounders

Jacob Oram NZ

Albie Morkel SA

Joginder Sharma Ind

Batsmen

Virender Sehwag Ind

Gautam Gambhir Ind

Manoj Tiwary Ind

AB de Villiers SA

Bowlers

Mohammad Asif Pak

Daniel Vettori NZ

Glenn McGrath Aus

wicket-keeper

Dinesh Karthik Ind

all-rounders

T Dilshan SL

Farveez Maharoof SL

Shoaib Malik Pak

Batsmen

Rohit Sharma Ind

Chamara Silva SL

Herschelle Gibbs SA

VVS Laxman Ind

Bowlers

RP Singh Ind

Chaminda Vaas SL

Nuwan Zoysa SL

wicket-keeper

Adam Gilchrist Aus

all-rounders

Andrew Symonds Aus

Shahid Afridi Pak

Scott Styris NZ

Jaipur Rs 11.7 cr

Batsmen

Mohammad Kaif Ind

Graeme Smith SA

Younis Khan Pak

Justin Langer Aus

Bowlers

Shane Warne Aus

Munaf Patel Aus

wicket-keeper

Kamran Akmal Pak

all-rounders

Yusuf Pathan Ind

Batsmen

Yuvraj Singh Ind

Simon Katich Aus

R Sarwan WI

M Jayawardene SL

Bowlers

Brett Lee Aus

Romesh Pawar Ind

S Sreesanth Ind

Piyush Chawla Ind

wicket-keeper

K Sangakkara SL

all-rounders

Irfan Pathan Ind

Batsmen

S Tendulkar Ind

Loots Bosman SA

Robin Uthappa Ind

Bowlers

Harbhajan Singh Ind

Lasith Malinga SL

Dilhara Fernando SL

all-rounders

S Jayasuriya SL

Shaun Pollock SA