Otago named a preliminary 20-man squad yesterday for the tournament which begins in India in September.
As expected, the three imports Otago used in winning the HRV Cup - Ryan ten Doeschate, Brett Lee and James Fuller - have been named, while the likes of Nathan and Brendon McCullum have also been included.
Nathan McCullum's availability for Otago is up in the air as he could also be picked for the Hyderabad Sunrisers, who are in Otago's group for the Champions League.
Otago is competing in the qualifying tournament and needs to finish in the top two to qualify for the full Champions League tournament.
The availability of ten Doeschate and Fuller depended on how their county sides performed, Otago coach Vaughn Johnson said.
County cricket is still in action in the United Kingdom in September. Fuller plays for Gloucestershire and ten Doeschate plays for Essex.
Johnson was hopeful Nathan McCullum would turn out for Otago as he only had a limited role to play with his Indian side in the last IPL.
Johnson said the majority of players had experienced a good two-month break since the domestic season finished, although they had continued working on their fitness.
Apart from the New Zealand representatives, and Aaron Redmond, who is playing league cricket for Wigan, the players were all ready to get back into some cricket training next week, Johnson said.
''We need to start loading in terms of letting the bowlers get into some rhythm and the batsmen to start hitting some balls,'' he said.
''We need to be getting on grass as soon as possible. Then by August we will be looking to be playing some twenty20 games. We may have to go offshore or look at somewhere in New Zealand.''
He said possibilities may include some players tagging along on a New Zealand A trip to Australia.
Auckland had trained in Tauranga before it left to play in the Champions League last season.
Johnson said there was also the chance of Otago playing in Sri Lanka or India just before the tournament started to get acclimatised to the weather.
Johnson said 20 players had to be named at this stage in rules set down by tournament organisers.
Otago cricket
Preliminary squad
Nick Beard, Sam Blakely, Derek de Boorder, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Mark Craig, Ryan ten Doeschate, Jacob Duffy, James Fuller, Brett Lee, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Jimmy Neesham, Aaron Redmond, Iain Robertson, Hamish Rutherford, Neil Wagner, Sam Wells.
