Sam Curran on Friday became the most expensive player in IPL history with Punjab Kings agreeing to pay £1.85 million for the England all-rounder’s services.
Curran starred in England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign this year, picking up the player of the tournament award after picking up 13 wickets, including a spell of three for 12 against Pakistan in the final. In a big-spending day at the IPL auction in Kerala, the all-rounder sparked a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals among the teams vying for his services before Punjab won, agreeing a fee that dwarfs the £1.6. m Rajasthan paid South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris in 2021.
“He is a world-class player,” Punjab Kings team manager Ness Wadia said of his record signing. “He would play in any World XI, in any of the top teams, he’s that good. He’s probably one of the best all-rounders in the world, if not the best.”
Harry Brook, player of the series in England’s recent Test tour of Pakistan and another of England’s World Cup winners, also earned a seven-figure fee with Sunrisers Hyderabad paying £1.3m sterling
“He’s young, he’s exciting, he loves to finish games and that’s something any team would want,” Sunrisers head coach Brian Lara said. “Yes, it is his first IPL but he has played in Asian conditions, he loves Asian conditions and I think he will be one of the most valuable players going forward.”
England Test captain Ben Stokes joins Chennai Super Kings for £1.6m, where he will team-mate Moeen Ali, who is among several England players to be retained by the their franchises. Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, David Willey and England T20 captain Jos Buttler also remain with their 2022 squads.
At the lower end of the ladder there were also bids for more of England’s T20 World Cup winners: wicketkeeper-batsman Phil Salt (£200,000 to Delhi Capitals), spinner Adil Rashid (£200,000 to Sunrisers Hyderabad) and fast bowler Reece Topley (£190,000 at Royal). Challengers Bangalore). Will Jacks, who made his Test debut in Pakistan, was also picked up by RCB for around £320,000.
However, not every England player in the auction secured a deal, with Joe Root among those not sold, although the former England captain could still secure a deal later in the selection process. team Rehan Ahmed, the 18-year-old spinner who made such an impact on his Test debut, was also unsold, as was Will Smeed, the 21-year-old Somerset batsman who recently retired from cricket first class to concentrate. only in the white ball game.
Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ views on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s action
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by third parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan, both World Cup winners, also failed to find offers.