Sam Curran becomes most expensive player in IPL history

[ad_1]

England allrounder Sam Curran broke Chris Morris’ record (INR 16.25 crore) to become the most expensive buy at an IPL auction, when Punjab Kings outbid Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to sign him for INR 18.25 crore (USD 2.25 million).

At that price, Curran is also the most expensive player in IPL history, reunited with the franchise that first welcomed him into the IPL with an INR 7.2-crore bid in 2019. Curran was the Player of the Final and Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, and since September this year he has taken 25 wickets in 14 T20s at an economy rate of 7.08. He has also improved his batting against spin: in 31 T20 innings since 2020, he has an average of 27.07 and a strike rate of 154.69.

Mumbai went as far as INR 18 crore to try and line-up Curran alongside Jofra Archer, their other big-ticket England signing at last year’s auction, but they were eventually outbid by Punjab, who had begun the auction with the second largest purse. Shortly after failing to buy Curran, Mumbai managed to buy Cameron Green for INR 17.50 crore, making the Australian allrounder the second most expensive player in IPL auction history.

“I’m pinching myself that this has all happened. It’s such a weird feeling watching an auction for yourself. I can’t believe how nervous I was and I was shaking like anything when the final call was confirmed,” Green said. “I’ve always been a huge fan of the IPL and it’s going to be so cool to be a part of it. The Mumbai Indians are one of the powerhouses of the competition so I feel very humbled to be joining them. I can’t wait to get there next year.”

Green’s T20 stocks have risen significantly in the last six months. Not part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad initially, he was only a last-minute inclusion after Josh Inglis picked up an injury while playing golf. Green eventually shot into the limelight after a prolific T20I series in India, where he made 118 runs, including two half-centuries at a strike rate of 214.54 at the top of the order. That he offers the flexibility of batting anywhere apart from bowling seam-ups at a lively pace landed him a massive payday in his first IPL auction.

England allrounder Ben Stokes became the costliest signing by Chennai Super Kings in auction history at INR 16.25 crore. Stokes will line-up alongside MS Dhoni in the IPL once again, after a brief stint together at Rising Pune Super Giant.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals also raised the paddle for Stokes, but it soon became clear their limited budgets were going to be a constraint. Having come into the auction with INR 20.45 crores, Super Kings spent nearly 80% of their budget on Stokes alone. He also becomes a viable captaincy candidate as Super Kings begin to explore the idea of succession planning post Dhoni.

Sunrisers break the bank for Brook, Agarwal

Stokes and Curran’s England team-mate Harry Brook also made a splash when Sunrisers Hyderabad staved off aggressive bidding from Rajasthan Royals to secure his services for INR 13.25 crore (USD 1.6 million approx). This is the most a franchise has paid to sign an overseas batter at an auction.

Brook, 23, is set to feature in his maiden IPL season following a breakout year in international cricket. Only two months ago in Pakistan, his first international overseas trip, Brook impressed with his clean power hitting to win the Player-of-the-Series award after hitting 328 runs at a strike rate of 163.01, in a series England won 4-3.

Brook’s superior record in Asia may have been an attractive proposition for teams – 581 runs in 16 T20I innings at a strike rate of 167.43. More recently, Brook put behind a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign to blast two centuries in the three-Test series England won 3-0.

Having signed Brook, Sunrisers also went hard to secure India opener Mayank Agarwal for INR 8.25 crore, thereby spending nearly 51% of their auction purse of INR 42.25 crores back-to-back. This meant Sunrisers, who went as high as INR 14.5 crore to get Stokes, eventually missed out on a marquee allrounder.

[ad_2]

Source link