The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction 2023 saw top overseas players sparking a bidding war and fetching big money with franchises including Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PK) making big bets.
The auction for the 2023 edition saw a thunderous start and fierce bidding with Sam Curran becoming the most expensive player ever to be bought in IPL, while Cameron Green is the second most expensive IPL buy.
The first double-digit buy in the auction started with England cricketer Harry Brook.
A total of 405 players went under the hammer in Kochi with a total of 87 slots spread across 10 franchises out of which 30 were slotted for overseas players. Among the 405 players, 273 included Indian players and 132 overseas players.
Sam Curran, the most expensive player, was sold to Punjab Kings at Rs 18.50 crore after a bidding war with Rajasthan Royals. The team had started the auction with a purse of Rs 32.2 crore. Curran who has surpassed the highest IPL bid of Chris Morris at Rs 16.25 crore was the most sought after player.
Former cricketer Anil Kumble had said before the start of the auction that Sam Curran will be the most hotly contested player. "He has age on his side. and he can multiply his earnings in the auction," Kumble had said.
Ness Wadia, Co-Owner of Punjab Kings said that letting go of Sam Curran was a big mistake and the franchise wanted him back. The team's other buy included Sikandar Raza who was sold to Punjab Kings at a base price of Rs 50 lakh.
The second biggest purchase during the auction was by Mumbai Indians that went all out for Australian cricketer Cameron Green at Rs 17.50 crore. Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani said that Cameron Green is a player they have tracked for last 2-3 years.
Sunrisers Hyderabad made aggressive bidding and got two massive buys with Harry Brook at Rs 13.25 crore and Mayank Agarwal at Rs 8.25 crore.
Ben Stokes also made it to the list of top buys during the auction. He was sold to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 16.25 crore, becoming the third most expensive player after attracting multiple bids from Royal Challengers Bangalore, Lucknow Super Giants, Rajasthan Royals, and SRH.
Many franchises bet big on the English players and this comes in the aftermath of their recent World Cup triumph in the Down Under.
A total of five players were sold for over Rs 10 crore during the auction.
The most expensive uncapped players during the auction were Shivam Mavi for Rs 6 crore to Gujarat Titans, Mukesh Kumar for Rs 5.5 crore to Delhi Capitals, Vivrant Sharma for Rs 2.6 crore to SRH, KS Bharat for Rs 1.2 crore to Gujarat Titans and N Jagadeesan for Rs 90 lakh to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Other top buys were Jason Holder at Rs 5.27 crore by Rajasthan Royals, Heinrich Klaasen at Rs 5.25 crore by SRH at the auction.
But there were many players that saw no bidding from any of the franchises including players like B Surya, Tom Curran, among others.
The IPL 2023 auction streamed live on JioCinema for free.
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