New Delhi - Top England players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff Friday became the most costly cricketers in the Indian Premier League after being bought for
1.55 million dollars each at a players' auction.

The Twenty20 tournament will be played from April 10 onwards and features teams from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Jaipur, Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

Pietersen, who was England captain untill recently was bought by the Bangalore Royal Challengers while Flintoff went to the Chennai Super Kings at the auction in the southern resort state of Goa.

The two players overtook Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was bought by Super Kings last year for 1.5 million dollars.

Bangalore team owner, business tycoon Vijay Mallya, said he was very keen to get Pietersen who would prove a superb addition to the team.

"We needed to strengthen our batting and I was prepared to pay more for him. It is a worthwhile investment and ensures the balance that we wanted in our team", he said.

South African sensation Jean Paul Duminy, who played a crucial role in the Proteas' series win against Australia, went to Mumbai Indians for 950,000 dollars.

Duminy's team-mate, all-rounder Tyron Henderson was bought by title-holders of the inaugural edition, the Rajasthan Royals, for 650,000 dollars.

Kolkata Knight Riders snapped up Bangladesh fast bowler Mashrafe bin Mortaza for 600,000 dollars after an intense round of bidding while Essex and England all-rounder Ravi Bopara was bought by Kings XI Punjab for 450,000 dollars.

Among other players auctioned, Australian Shaun Tait was bought Rajasthan Royals for 375,000 dollars. Former England captain Paul Collingwood and his team-mate Owais Shah were bought by Delhi Daredevils for 275,000 dollars each.

In all, 16 players were sold to eight city franchisee teams in the auction for the second edition of IPL Twenty20 tournament.

A total of 50 international cricketers from Australia, England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh were up for grabs and the franchises had a total of 13.59 million dollars in their kitty for picking up the players.

Pakistan has refused permission to its cricketers to participate in the tournament citing security concerns amid deteriorating ties with India following the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi said the Pakistani players contracted to the IPL will be replaced by other players after the auction. (dpa)