England all-rounder Sam Curran shattered past records at the players’ auction for the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, emerging the most expensive player in the tournament’s history as Punjab Kings bought him for Rs 18.50 crore. The most expensive player in IPL so far was South African all-rounder Chris Morris, who received Rs 16.25 crore at the 2021 auction.
Broadcast on Star Sports and live-streamed on JioCinema — part of the Viacom18 network — a total of 405 players were part of the IPL 2023 auctions, including 273 Indian players for 87 slots.
On Friday, three more foreign players were picked up for over Rs 15 crore, a first for the cash-rich T20 tournament. Australian cricketer Cameron Green went to Mumbai Indians for Rs 17.50 crore, England Test captain Ben Stokes to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 16.25 crore, and West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 16 crore.
The fifth player to walk away with a strong bid was England opener Harry Brook, who went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 13.25 crore. Cricket experts said nearly 40 per cent of the total purse of Rs 206.5 crore was used to purchase top five players alone at the auctions this year.
While the day belonged to foreign players, Indian cricketers did not disappoint either with uncapped players Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar catching the attention.
Along with former Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal — bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 8.25 crore — Mavi and Kumar, were picked up by Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals for Rs 6 crore and Rs 5.50 crore each.
There were some more surprises at the IPL auctions this year. Jammu & Kashmir player Vivrant Sharma was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 2.6 crore and former Sunrisers Hyderabad player Manish Pandey was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 2.4 crore.
West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder, meanwhile, was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 5.75 crore, South African player Heinrich Klaasen was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 5.25 crore and Joshua Little went to Gujarat Titans for Rs 4.40 crore.
Sunrisers Hyderabad came into the auction with the biggest purse of Rs 42.25 crore, followed by Punjab Kings at Rs 32.20 crore and Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 23.35 crore. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings rounded off the list of top five teams with the biggest purse at Rs 20.55 crore and Rs 20.45 crore, respectively.
The auction of players for the 2023 edition, could also contribute to the IPL’s brand value for next year, say experts.
The brand value of the IPL has almost doubled in 2022 to touch $8.4 billion from $4.7 billion in 2021, according to Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation firm. This was led by the addition of two new teams in 2022 and the auction of media rights for the 2023-27 media cycle in June, according to Ajimon Francis, MD, Brand Finance India.
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