The IPL 2023 auction at Kochi turned out to be a show of allrounders. England's Sam Curran broke all records becoming the highest paid player in the history of IPL. Curran was sold to Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Rs 18.50 crore.
๐ฃ๏ธ๐ฃ๏ธ โHeโs one of the best all-roundersโ@PunjabKingsIPL Director, Ness Wadia, speaks on the record purchase of @CurranSM in the #TATAIPLAuction 2023 ๐ฐ๐@TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/Liqa5xOWi9
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022
Australia's Cameron Green was roped in by Mumbai Indians (MI) at Rs 17.50 crore while England's Ben Stokes was sold to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Rs 16.25 crore.
๐ฝ๏ธ Cameron Green makes merry & is SOLD to @mipaltan for INR 17. 50 Crore ๐ #TATAIPLAuction @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/cFdXbYIIUO
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022
๐ฝ๏ธ @ChennaiIPL win the bidding battle to bring @benstokes38 on board for INR 16.25 crore๐ #TATAIPLAuction @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/mtV5YNr8i3
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022
Here are 12 highlights from the auctions:
1. Nicholas Pooran: One of the biggest suprise of the auction was West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran. Pooran, who was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the auctions, saw an intense bidding between Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Towards the end, it narrowed to DC vs LSG with the latter getting the West Indian batter at Rs 16 crore.
Pooran's bidding price was Rs 2 crore and as several franchises jumped in to get him, his price skyrocketed to Rs 16 crore. It is indeed, the biggest shocker of the auctions so far.
2. Harry Brook: England's Harry Brook, who started at a base price of Rs 1.50 crore, has been bagged by SRH at Rs 13.25 crore.
Also known as the Virat Kohli of England cricket, Brook saw an intense bidding between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH needed a good middle-order batter and thereby, they didn't give up on Brook and got him at Rs 13.25 crore.
What do you make of this buy folks? ๐ฐ๐ฐ
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022
Congratulations to Harry Brook who joins @SunRisers #IPLAuction | @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/iNSKtYuk2C
3. Mayank Agarwal: The former Punjab Kings (PK) captain was another big surprise at the auctions as he was in huge demand. Ultimately, SRH took him at whopping Rs 8.25 crore.
Hear what @SunRisers Head Coach, @BrianLara has to say on getting @mayankcricket and Harry Brook on board ๐ฃ๏ธ๐ฃ๏ธ#TATAIPLAuction @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/iDvNifXk7F
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022
PBKS, CSK and SRH fought for Agarwal and he went up from his base price of Rs 1 crore to Rs 8.25 crore.
4. Henrich Klassen: The South African wicketkeeper batter was picked up by SRH at Rs 5.25 crore. Delhi Capitals (DC) made a bid for Klassen and later Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) also jumped in for the first time in the evening. But the SRH management swept Klassen at Rs 5.25 crore at the end.
5. Shivam Mavi: The former KKR pacer, who was released by KKR, will now play for Gujarat Titans as the franchise got him at a huge price of Rs 6 crore. Mavi's base price was Rs 20 lakh and there was a bidding war between RR and GT for him.
6. Jason Holder: The West Indian allrounder who had a decent season with SRH in 2022 will now play for Rajasthan Royals. Holder was another big surprise at the auctions as the CSK and RR showed interest in him. RR got him at a price of Rs 5.75 crore, which is more than twice his base price of Rs 2 crore.
7. Mukesh Kumar: The 28-year-old fast bowler from Bihar's Gopalganj has made it big in his first attempt at the IPL. Kumar, who received his maiden call for the Indian team recently was bought by Delhi Capitals at a price of Rs 5.50 crore. Kumar's name started at a base price of Rs 20 lakh and Punjab Kings and Delhi had to battle it out to get Kumar.
8. Vivrant Sharma: The 23-year-old batter from Jammu and Kashmir threw another surprise as he was purchased by the Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rs 2.60 crore, ehich was way more than his base price of Rs 20 lakh. Vivrant had a good show at the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy as he scored 124-ball 154 against Uttarakhand, which had also helped Jammu and Kashmir earn its maiden knockouts berth in the history of the tournament.
9. Adil Rasheed: The England spinner who went unsold last time at the auctions has finally found a team and will now play for SRH. Rasheed was taken in by SRH management at his base price of Rs 2 crore.
10. Kane Williamson: Former SRH captain Kane Williamson, who was the highest paid player in the team will now play for Gujarat Titans. Apart from Gujarat, no other team showed interest in getting Williamson and the batter was acquired by GT at his base price of Rs 2 crore.
11. Sikander Raza: In another big surprise, Zimbabwe's allrounder Sikander Raza, who had a good showing at T20 World Cup earlier this year, was bought by PBKS at his base price of Rs 50 lakh. The 36-year-old cricketer will play IPL for the first time.
12. Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Unadkat sold: Ishant Sharma was sold to DC at a Rs 50 lakh while former KKR player Ajinkya Rahane went to CSK at his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
Similarly, Jaydev Unadkat also found a place in Lucknow Super Giants and the franchise got him at his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
Surprising unnsold players: South Africa's Rassie Van der Dussen, South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi and Afghanistan's Mujeeb Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have also gone unsold.