Morgan goes to Royal Challengers Bangalore

Eoin Morgan, the England and Middlesex batsman, was the only English national player to walk away from this year's IPL bid with a new contract. He was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who also have Kevin Pietersen in their stable, for $220,000, surpassing the $210,000 offered by the Chennai Super Kings.

The seven other England internationals in the auction - Graeme Swann, Mark Ramprakash, Tim Bresnan, Anthony McGrath, Jonathan Trott, Monty Panesar and Robert Key - failed to secure contracts in a relatively quiet auction. One other Englishman was gifted a contract, however. Hampshire's Michael Lumb, who has a domestic Twenty20 hundred to his name, agreed to a $50,000 deal with the Rajasthan Royals. As Lumb has never played international cricket, his move was finalised outside the auction room.

Swann's omission is perhaps the most surprising, as his variety and control with the ball, allied to his lusty lower-order hitting, has cemented his position as England's first-choice spinner in all formats in the last 12 months. Indeed, Swann was one of only three players to start the auction with the inflated base price of $250,000, and it is thought that his unavailability for part of the IPL season - due to England's tour of Bangladesh - harmed his chances.

Trott, whose base price was a relatively modest $100,000, will also be disappointed not to have aroused any interest as he has an exceptional record in domestic Twenty20 cricket, averaging over 40 from 61 games. Of the other English IPL hopefuls, McGrath, Panesar, Ramprakash and Key did not even make it as far as the final auction list, while Bresnan failed to secure a single bid.