KEY POINTS:
Leading New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden is one of seven due to officiate at games in the inaugural Indian Premier League competition in April.
But there's no sign of senior West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor, who fell from grace after his woeful handling of Australia's ugly second test win over India in Sydney last month.
Other umpires for the ICC-backed tournament are Simon Taufel, Daryl Harper, Mark Benson, Rudy Koertzen and Asad Rauf.
The auction for players by the eight franchises in the Twenty20 competition will be held on February 20. Five Kiwis are among more than 80 who have been offered guaranteed fees for the 44-day competition: Daniel Vettori, Stephen Fleming, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum and Scott Styris. Players were offered a choice of payment options - they could either take a flat fee or a lower fee with a top-up out of the bidding process. Most, if not all, of the New Zealanders are understood to have taken the punt on the bidding battle.
The bidding limit is up to a maximum of US$5 million per team. Bangalore hosts the first game on April 18, and Mumbai the semifinals and final from May 30 to June 1.
