The highly-anticipated mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 concluded in Kochi on Friday. 80 players were sold in the record-shattering bidding event for a mammoth amount of INR 167 crore.
Unlike the last time when a major auction took place, this time around, teams had their squad ready, and they just needed few more players to make an ideal combination. No wonder the big focus was towards roping in quality all-rounders as the auction saw intense bidding wars amongst franchises, which resulted in three players breaking Chris Morris‘ record of the most expensive buy in the history of the tournament.
England all-rounder Sam Curran became the most expensive player after Punjab Kings bought him for a whopping INR 18.50 crore. Expectedly, Curran triggered a bidding war as Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals went head to head to acquire his services before Chennai Super Kings entered the contest and took the bid higher. Then came Punjab Kings, who swept away the all-rounder for next season. Curran broke the then-existing record of Morris, who was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for INR 16.25 crore in 2021.
In fact, Morris’ record was also smashed by Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was picked up by Mumbai Indians for a jaw-breaking INR 17.50 crore. Mumbai fended off a stiff bidding war with Delhi Capitals to buy Green.
Top 10 Buys in the mini-auction:
- Sam Curran (Punjab Kings) – INR 185000000
- Cameron Green (Mumbai Indians) – INR 175000000
- Ben Stokes (Chennai Super Kings) – INR 162500000
- Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow Super Giants) – INR 160000000
- Harry Brook (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – INR 132500000
- Mayank Agarwal (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – INR 82500000
- Shivam Mavi (Gujarat Titans) – INR 60000000
- Jason Holder (Rajasthan Royals) – INR 57500000
- Mukesh Kumar (Delhi Capitals) – INR 55000000
- Heinrich Klaasen (Sunrisers Hyderabad) – INR 52500000