VICTORIAN pace bowler Shane Harwood has been in talks about joining
Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals.
His manager, Gerard Sholly, said the Bushranger was yet to sign a contract and was unlikely to do so before the IPL begins in Friday.
But former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann has signed up, as cover for South African captain Graeme Smith.
Lehmann, 38, who played 27 Tests and 117 one-day internationals, will play for the Jaipur-based franchise to be captained by his friend Shane Warne.
Warne called on Lehmann to play because Smith will be unavailable for the early part of the tournament after being called back home to play in South Africa's domestic Twenty20 competition.
Smith will miss the Royals' first two games, which means the former South Australian captain will play two, possibly three, games.
Lehmann retired from first-class cricket last season after a prolific career which yielded 25,795 runs, and 1798 runs at 44.95 in 27 Tests from 1998-2004, along with a part in the 1999 and 2003 World Cup victories.
While the countdown to the multi-million dollar Twenty20 competition has hit fever pitch in India, the tournament continues to be plagued by several headaches.
The competition is embroiled in a media rights dispute similar to the one which plagued Cricket Australia before the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka, in Brisbane in November.
The IPL's strict guidelines on issuing accreditation to media and the prevention of photographic agencies selling pictures to websites has angered media companies in India.
Reporters from cricket website Cricinfo have been barred from attending grounds to cover games, while it remains unclear what coverage global news and photographic agencies Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Presse and Getty Images will devote to the tournament.
India's News Media Coalition has slammed the IPL's guidelines as restrictive, while the IPL has sought a meeting with the News Broadcasters Association to try to find a resolution to the dispute.
Network Ten will broadcast IPL matches in Australia.
The hype surrounding the IPL has also prompted speculation an English version of the competition will be established.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed it has discussed the concept of creating a similar tournament with Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, who set up the Stanford Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean.
England players such as Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan will not take part in this year's IPL because it clashes with their season, and have put the pressure on their home board to consider implementing their own league so they can be a part of the craze.
The creation of an English premier league could put further strain on the international cricket calendar, but the ECB plans to discuss the issue with Stanford again next month.
