At that price, Curran is also the most expensive player in IPL history – even more than retained players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul – and was reunited with the franchise that first welcomed him into the league at an INR 7.2-crore bid in 2019. Curran was the Player of the Final and the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia; and since September this year he has taken 25 wickets in 14 T20s at an economy rate of 7.08. He has also improved his batting against spin: in 31 T20 innings since 2020, he has an average of 27.07 and a strike rate of 154.69.
“I’m pinching myself that this has all happened. It’s such a weird feeling watching an auction for yourself. I can’t believe how nervous I was and I was shaking like anything when the final call was confirmed,” Green said. “I’ve always been a huge fan of the IPL and it’s going to be so cool to be a part of it. The Mumbai Indians are one of the powerhouses of the competition so I feel very humbled to be joining them. I can’t wait to get there next year.”
Green’s T20 stocks have risen significantly in the last six months. Not part of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad initially, the allrounder was a last-minute inclusion after Josh Inglis picked up an injury while playing golf. Green had shot into the limelight after a prolific T20I series in India, where he made 118 runs, including two half-centuries, at a strike rate of 214.54 at the top of the order. His ability to bat anywhere in the order and bowl at a lively pace landed him a massive payday in his first IPL auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals also raised the paddle for Stokes, but it soon became clear their limited budgets were going to be a constraint. Having come into the auction with INR 20.45 crores, CSK spent nearly 80% of their budget on Stokes alone. He also becomes a viable captaincy candidate as CSK begin to explore the idea of succession planning post Dhoni.
Stokes and Curran’s England team-mate Harry Brook also made a splash when Sunrisers Hyderabad staved off aggressive bidding from Rajasthan Royals to secure his services for INR 13.25 crore (USD 1.6 million approx). This is the most a franchise has paid to sign an overseas batter at an auction.
Brook, 23, is set to feature in his maiden IPL season following a breakout year in international cricket. Only two months ago in Pakistan, his first international overseas trip, Brook impressed with his clean power hitting to win the Player-of-the-Series award after hitting 238 runs at a strike rate of 163.01, in a series England won 4-3.
Brook’s superior record across all T20s in Asia may have been an attractive proposition for teams – 581 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 167.43. More recently, Brook put behind a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign to blast three centuries in the three-Test series England won 3-0.
Having signed Brook, Sunrisers also went hard to secure India opener Mayank Agarwal for INR 8.25 crore, thereby spending nearly 51% of their auction purse of INR 42.25 crores back-to-back. This meant Sunrisers, who went as high as INR 14.5 crore to get Stokes, eventually missed out on a marquee allrounder.
Nicholas Pooran began the year by becoming the most expensive West Indian ever sold at an IPL auction (INR 10.75 crore), and he broke that record once again when Lucknow Supergiants spent INR 16 crore (nearly USD 2 million) to buy the wicketkeeper-batter.
For a while, the fight for Pooran seemed to be a contest between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, but once Lucknow swooped in with a bid nearing a million dollars, it became a two-team race between Super Giants and Capitals.
Pooran’s endured a mixed year as far as his international career goes. He was named Kieron Pollard’s successor as West Indies’ T20I captain but stepped down following a dismal T20 World Cup campaign where West Indies failed to make it out of the first round after losses to Scotland and Ireland. He had a decent IPL 2022, though, among the few notable performers in a disappointing season for Sunrisers. He made 306 runs including two fifties at an average of 38.25 and a strike rate of 144.33.
Pooran’s power-hitting ability was most recently seen at the Abu Dhabi T10, where he was was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his 345 runs, which came at an average of 49.28 and a phenomenal strike rate of 234.69.
Sikandar Raza broke an eight-year barren run when he became the first Zimbabwean to be bought at an IPL auction since Brendan Taylor in 2014. At his base price of INR 50 lakh, Raza could be a steal for the Punjab Kings, given the form he’s been in. Raza was the top run-getter (219 at a strike rate of 147) and second highest wicket-taker (10 scalps) for Zimbabwe at the T20 World Cup.
“We wanted to have a like-for-like replacement for Jason Behrendorff,” RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar said. “We’ve kept tab on most of the left-armers available. Josh [Hazlewood] isn’t going to be available for the first few games, so we looked at availability of players and that’s where Topley fit in really well. To get a high-quality performer like him adds strength to our squad.”
Kolkata Knight Riders – the silent spectators
Having come into the auction with the smallest purse (INR 7.05 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders patiently watched proceedings; they entered the bidding just once – for South Africa batter Heinrich Klaasen – as the other franchises snapped up the first 38 players.
More to follow …
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo