The Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction will be held on December 23 in Kochi.
The records for the most expensive signing in IPL auctions went tumbling one after the other as Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes earned whopping sums of money
Here is a look at the most expensive buys in the history of the league after the 2023 IPL mini auction:
Sam Curran - INR 18.50 Crore
Sam Curran became the most expensive IPL player during the 2023 auction. He was signed by Punjab Kings.
Curran was an attraction in the auction after becoming the Player of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup. He was also the Player of the Match in the final where England beat Australia.
Curran did not register for the IPL mega auction in February 2022, citing rehabilitation from a back injury as the reason for opting out.
The left-arm pacer played for Chennai Super Kings in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He was handed his IPL debut by Punjab Kings, which signed him for Rs. 7.2 crore in 2019.
Over the 32 games in three seasons, Curran has scored 337 runs at a strike rate of 149.78. Curran also has 32 wickets at an economy of 9.21.
Cameron Green - INR 17.50 Crore
Cameron Green was signed by Mumbai for Rs 17.50 crore at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, becoming the second most expensive player in the IPL.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals also tried to make a claim for the all-rounder but the five-time champion finally signed the 23-year-old.
Green debuted for Australia in T20Is in April 2022. In eight matches, Green has a strike of 173.75 and has scored two 50+ scores. Both fifties came against India in November 2022 - 61 off 30 balls and 52 off 21 deliveries.
Ben Stokes - INR 16.25 Crore
Ben Stokes was signed by Chennai Super Kings in the 2023 IPL Auction. He tied the record with South Africa’s Chris Morris for the third-most expensive signing in IPL.
Stokes attracted interest from multiple teams after the all-rounder played a crucial role in England’s T20 World Cup winning campaign earlier this year.
England allrounder Stokes entered at Rs 2 crore. RCB competed with RR before LSG entered the bid at Rs 7 crore. SRH too entered the fray shortly after followed by CSK. The MS Dhoni-led team eventually landed Stokes for Rs 16.25 crore, third joint-highest price tag ever in the IPL.
Stokes made an unbeaten 52 to guide the Three Lions to victory in the final against Pakistan at the MCG. The right-arm medium pacer also picked six wickets with an economy of 6.79 in the tournament.
Chris Morris – INR 16.25 Crore
Former South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris became the most expensive player in the IPL when Rajasthan Royals acquired him at the IPL 2021 mini-auction. Morris was released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the auction, having bought him for INR 10 crore the previous year. Morris was engaged in a fierce bidding war which saw his value soar more than 21 times his base price of INR 75 lakh to a staggering INR 16.25 crore.
Morris emerged as the leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan in IPL 2021 with 15 wickets in 11 matches. However, he had a poor season with the bat - 67 runs at an average of 13.40. Soon after the season, Morris announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in January 2022.
Nicholas Pooran - INR 16 Crore
Nicholas Pooran was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 16 crore in the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, making him the most expensive wicketkeeper batter in IPL auction history.
Pooran played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2022 season after being picked up in the mega auction for Rs. 10.75 crore. The franchise, however, released the wicketkeeper-batter ahead of the mini auction. He had scored 306 runs in 14 matches.
Pooran has also played for Punjab Kings. The West Indies player averages 26.06 with a strike rate of 151.24 over his four seasons in the tournament.
Yuvraj Singh – INR 16 Crore
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hit the jackpot when he was bought for INR 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) ahead of the 2015 IPL. Yuvraj, struggling to regain his spot in Team India, had received another big bid of INR 14 crore the previous season from RCB.
Yuvraj failed to live up to the billing with Delhi, managing 248 runs and a solitary wicket in 14 matches. Delhi released Yuvraj ahead of the next season. Sunrisers Hyderabad then signed him for INR 7 crore.
Yuvraj, past his prime, would play four more seasons and finish with two IPL trophies - with SRH (2016) and the Mumbai Indians in 2019.
Pat Cummins – INR 15.5 Crore
Australia seamer Pat Cummins made the headlines during the IPL 2020 auction as Kolkata Knight Riders sought his services at a whopping INR 15.5 crore. Cummins picked up 12 wickets for KKR and contributed handy knocks in the lower-order, including a quick-fire fifty, in his first season.
Cummins was released by KKR ahead of the 2022 auction, where the franchise bought him back at INR 7.25 crore - half the price from his record-breaking bid the previous year.
Cummins picked up seven wickets from five matches and smashed the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history (of 15 balls) against the Mumbai Indians to hand KKR a memorable win. However, Cummins’ season was curtailed with a hip injury. The Australian Test captain was released by KKR ahead of the 2023 mini-auction after the 29-year-old opted to pull out of the season to remain fresh for next year’s Ashes tour.
Ishan Kishan - INR 15.25 Crore
India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan became the most expensive signing of the IPL 2022 auction after Mumbai Indians bought him for a whopping INR 15.25 crore.
Kishan, first bought by Mumbai in 2018, was the team’s leading run-scorer in 2020. He made 516 runs in 14 matches while striking 30 sixes - the most that year.
Mumbai Indians was involved in an intense bidding war with Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings, which led to a meteoric rise in Kishan’s stocks. It was the first time Mumbai Indians had bid more than INR 10 crore for a player at the auction. Before Kishan’s signing, captain Rohit Sharma was MI’s biggest signing at the auction, having paid INR 9.2 crore for him ahead of IPL 2011.
Kishan scored 418 runs from 14 matches in 2022 as Mumbai marked its worst performance since 2008.
Kyle Jamieson – INR 15 Crore
New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson was the second-most expensive player at the 2021 IPL auction, with Royal Challengers Bangalore buying the relatively inexperienced T20 player for a staggering INR 15 crore. Jamieson’s early exploits with the red-ball, particularly against India, ensured that his stocks skyrocketed 20 times his base price of INR 75 lakh.
However, an ordinary run in nine matches with nine wickets meant Jamieson soon fell out of favour. The Kiwi opted out of the 2022 season to focus on his all-format bowling. The 27-year-old will now hope for a return to the cash-rich league after setting himself at a base price of INR 1 crore.
Ben Stokes – INR 14.5 Crore
England’s all-format talisman Ben Stokes was bought by the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant for a hefty price of INR 14.5 crore ahead of its second and last year in the IPL in 2017. Stokes justified his signing with bat and ball. He amassed 316 runs at a strike rate of 142.98 and smashed a match-winning 63-ball hundred against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions. Stokes also scalped 12 wickets at an economy of 7.18 runs as Pune finished runner-up. Stokes hit the spotlight in 2018, too, with the returning Rajasthan Royals bagging him for INR 12.5 crore.
Stokes displayed streaks of belligerence but failed to sustain the momentum over the next three seasons. After an abrupt ending to his IPL 2021 campaign, with a broken finger, Stokes took a mental health break and missed the subsequent T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.
Stokes opted out of IPL 2022 and will hope to return to the league, having led England to its second T20 World Cup title recently in Australia. The England Test captain enters the auction at a base price of INR 2 crore.
Deepak Chahar - INR 14 crore
Deepak Chahar became the most expensive Indian fast bowler in the IPL when he was signed by Chennai Super Kings for INR 14 crore at the IPL 2022 auction.
The 29-year-old made his IPL debut for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016, where he picked up a solitary wicket from five outings across two seasons. In the 2018 auction, Chahar was drafted in by CSK for INR 80 lakh, where he revelled over four seasons, recording 58 wickets from as many games.
However, in a massive jolt for himself and CSK, Chahar sustained a back injury that put him out of action for several months. Chahar made his international return in mid-2022 but continues to struggle with fitness. In November, the 30-year-old was retained by CSK for the heavy price tag as he continues to be the franchise’s most proficient bowling option in the PowerPlays.
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