Antigua, Feb 14 (IANS): Cricket West Indies (CWI) has congratulated all the West Indian players who received their contracts in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction 2022, conducted in Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday.

From the large pool of available players, 14 West Indians were chosen to join Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, who were retained by their respective franchises ahead of the auction. The total price paid for the West Indies players is US$10,855 million.

The 17 West Indians make up the largest number of foreign players in the IPL, from any territory outside of India.

"I want to congratulate all of the West Indies players who have secured contracts to the various franchises in the IPL, which is the biggest and most lucrative global T20 franchise tournament. But I especially want to applaud those younger players who received their first full IPL contracts. This shows great faith in emerging West Indies talent. I continue to believe that our players can seek quality employment abroad, and still be positioned to operate constructively and successfully within the West Indies cricket system," CWI president Ricky Skerritt was quoted as saying by windiescricket.com.

Nicholas Pooran said, "I'm very thankful. I can't wait for that journey to begin. But before that journey begins, I just want to give thanks to Cricket West Indies for laying the foundation for my career and I hope a lot of youngsters get that opportunity as well."

Jason Holder said, "I want to thank the West Indies fans immensely for their support over the years and I want to thank Cricket West Indies for helping to develop my talent. I look forward to this opportunity and also look forward to what is ahead in West Indies cricket, so I can continue to build a legacy for the West Indies."

CWI has allocated a window for the tournament each year in their ICC FTP and also guaranteed this to the players in their retainer contracts, therefore West Indies players are fully available to participate in the IPL each year. The IPL 2022 is slated to be played in April and May.

Full List (with franchises and fees)

Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) - US$1.6 million

Nicholas Pooran (Sunrisers Hyderabad) - US$1.433 million

Jason Holder (Lucknow Super Giants) - US$1.166 million

Shimron Hetmyer (Rajasthan Royals) - US$1.133 million

Romario Shepherd (Sunrisers Hyderabad) - US$1.033 million

Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians) - US$800,000

Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) - US$800,000

Odean Smith (Punjab Kings) - US$800,000

Dwayne Bravo (Chennai Super Kings) - US$586,000

Rovman Powell (Delhi Capitals) - US$373,000

Alzarri Joseph (Gujarat Titans) - US$320,000

Evin Lewis (Lucknow Super Giants) - US$266,000

Dominic Drakes (Gujarat Titans) - US$146,000

Sherfane Rutherford (Punjab Kings) - US$133,000

Fabian Allen (Mumbai Indian) - US$100,000

Obed McCoy (Rajasthan Royals) - US$100,000

Kyle Mayers (Lucknow Super Giants) - US$66,000