The Sahara India Pariwar dropped a major bombshell on the struggling spectre of Indian cricket by announcing its decision to withdraw sponsorship of the national side and also pull out from sponsoring IPL side Pune Warriors. The timing of the announcement could not have been better orchestrated with the Sahara Big Wigs failing to turn up for Season 5 Player Auction, and instead issuing a press release on its eve explaining its decision.

The Sahara India Group said, "We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged any further. We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI. However, we don't want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then. All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play."

The highly anticipated Auction for Season 5 of Indian Premier League got underway on Saturday morning with high expectations. The big news at the start of the auction was the withdrawal of the Pune Warriors from the process and the announcement made by Sahara, the franchise owners, to pull out from all sponsorship of Indian cricket.

That left just 8 teams competing for the players up for grabs today, and a cloud of mystery surrounding the fate of the Pune players, who were not included in this auction.

The first set of 5 players drawn from the lot were categorized under the marquee player category. The first player under the lot was Brendon McCulum of New Zealand, the belligerent wicket keeper batsman, was sold to KKR for 900,000 dollars from a base price of 400000 USD.

The fifth edition of the glamorous Indian Premier League is set to get underway in April with its usual glitz and glow; but before that drawing eyeballs will be the IPL Auction on 4^th February. The disqualification of Kochi Tuskers has thrown all of its players in the market again, and the other nine teams will be shelling out their dollars chosing from amongst 144 players who will be going under the hammer.

The teams have been permitted to increase their squads from 30 to 33 players, with an additional spot also thrown open for foreigners giving teams more reason to loosen their purse strings in the auction.

After examining the open slots available with each team, and their need for talent, here's a look at what we think might be the top ten deals that will be making news come Saturday:

Kevin O'Brien, the talented all-rounder in the Irish national cricket team, who entertained Indian audience with a blistering 100 off just 50 balls in the 2011 World Cup against England (the fastest in WC history) is in the auction pot for IPL's Season 5 and we at TheSportsCampus managed to catch up with the Blonde Bomber.

Kevin O'Brien is the youngest of six children in his family and started his cricketing career at the Railway Union Sports Club in Ireland along with his elder brother Niall O' Brien, who also plays with him for the nationalteam. His father Brendan also played for Ireland for the most part of 15 years, starting from 1966 and he too started his career playing for the Railway. Kevin played for the Irish Under 19 team in the Junior World Cup of 2004 and performed really well to take his team through to the semi-finals of the plate division, where they were eventually beaten by Australia. Following that successful campaign with the Junior side he joined the MCC young cricketers academy also in 2004, a move that catapulted him into the national side a few years later.

In the midst of a dreadful Indian tour down under and a similar course for England in the Middle-East, here comes the richest and the most glamorous cricket tournament, though not necessarily of earth shattering quality. Come the 4th of February, it will become crystal clear which players are going to be involved with which franchise with the focus of attention being the newly released players from Kochi Tuskers Kerala, whose team has been removed following some legislative and financial issues with the IPL governing body.

Some other players, including a few Englishmen have also been put up for Auction. Not surprisingly, no Pakistanis are named in the auction with Azhar Mahmood, a former Pakistan all rounder slated as an English cricketer. Almost all the franchises have a $2million kitty, the exceptions being Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors, who have spent some amount from that bucket on retaining Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly respectively.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed Chris Gayle, former West Indies captain, for the next two IPL seasons. Gayle joined RCB for the 2011 IPL as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. He was the recipient of the Orange Cap for being the highest scorer in IPL 2011. He also played for RCB in the CLT20 2011. He was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.

"We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. His form helped us qualify for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament. We are confident that with players like him in our side, we will take the extra step this season, and win our maiden IPL title," Sidhartha Mallya, Director, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, said.

The IPL today announced the sixth transfer of the 2012 Trading Window. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, will move from Deccan Chargers to Mumbai Indians. Ojha has been a part of the Deccan Chargers, since the first IPL season in 2008. He won the Purple Cap for being the highest wicket-taker in the 2010 edition of the tournament.

"With a spinner of Pragyan Ojha's competence, we fortify our bowling department that has won us many matches in the past seasons. Pragyan Ojha is a player of great international repute, and we welcome him with much excitement," Nita Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians, said.

The IPL today announced the fifth transfer of the 2012 Trading window. Andrew McDonald, the fast-medium bowling allrounder from Australia, will move from Delhi Daredevils to Royal Challengers Bangalore, for the 2012 season of the tournament. The all-rounder is leading the Melbourne Renegades in the ongoing Big Bash League in Australia.

"All-rounders are a priceless asset in the T20 format. We are pleased to acquire Andrew. He has excelled with bat and ball for the various sides that he has represented, in different formats. We have no doubt that he will make a big difference to our prospects in the upcoming IPL," Sidhartha Mallya, Director, Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, commented.