Watson, Symonds, Lee all Aussies missing from IPL

With last year's player of the tournament absent due to national commitments, and two others who're among the highest-paid stars also missing, Australia's contingent at the start of the second IPL season will be more notable for who's not playing than those who make the trip to South Africa
There'll still be retired spin bowling great Shane Warne leading the way as captain and coach of the defending champion Rajasthan Royals, but Warne will be missing a key ingredient from last year, player of the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 season Shane Watson.
The 26-year-old Watson, who scored 472 runs at an average of 42 in the IPL last year, has returned from injury and was named in the Australian limited-overs squad for a series against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi beginning next Wednesday _ four days after the IPL starts.
Also missing will be troubled allrounder Andrew Symonds, who was been out of the Australian lineup for several months until his recall for the Pakistan series, and fast bowler Brett Lee, who was initially named in squad to play Pakistan but was later ruled out and replaced by Doug Bollinger.
Lee, at least, will continue to train in South Africa with his Indian Premier League franchise, Kings XI Punjab, to further his rehabilitation from ankle and foot operations. But if he's cleared to play, it's expected that will be for Australia before he sees any action for his IPL franchise.
Symonds would have been the fourth-highest salary earner at $1.35 million with Deccan Chargers in the IPL this season (behind England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff and India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni).
Lee was set to make $900,000, which would have put him at No. 10 in the 2009 earnings list.
Salaries are paid on a pro-rata basis for the foreign stars, so the more matches they play, the more they earn. The Australians on national team duties will get a chance to return to the IPL later in the tournament.
Also among the absent Australians is test skipper Ricky Ponting, who is being rested to prepare for the Ashes campaign against England in two months.
Australian Michael Hussey will also not play in this year's IPL in order to rest for the Ashes. Hussey would have been available for only the final two weeks of the IPL, which ends with the final on May 24 in Johannesburg.
Michael Clarke, who will captain Australia in Ponting's absence against Pakistan _ that series ends May 7 _ and pace bowler Mitchell Johnson, will also miss this year's IPL. Clarke and Johnson did not play in the inaugural IPL and did not nominate for the player auction earlier this year.
Ponting is expected back as skipper for Twenty20 World Cup in June and the Ashes.
"Right at the moment I feel like I need to get away and have a bit of a break, so that's the way it is," said Ponting, who was given a release for the 2009 season by the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise which is coached by ex-Australia coach John Buchanan.
Lee, a 76-test veteran, is pushing to reclaim his place in the Australian attack for the Ashes series. So IPL's loss might be Australia's gain for the crucial series against England. He joined the Kings XI Punjab squad in South Africa to practice because wet whether in Sydney was limiting his time in the nets.
"Now that he's here in South Africa with his IPL team, when he is ready to bowl again there'll be no excuses for weather or anything," Ponting said of Lee. "He should be able to get a lot of bowling done and when he's fit enough and ready to play, hopefully he'll be playing for us because that's what he wants. We need to see him back in Australian colors."
The eight-team, 59-match IPL tournament, switched to South Africa from India due to security concerns because of clashing dates with the general elections, begins Saturday.