England allrounder Sam Curran broke Chris Morris' record (INR 16.25 crore) to become the most expensive buy at an IPL auction, when Punjab Kings outbid Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to sign him for INR 18.25 crore (USD 2.25 million).
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.
At 50 lakh base price, Bangladesh wicket-keeper Litton Das has remained unsold for IPL 2023.
Bangladesh Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was at 1.5 crore but no team showed interest in their first call as he reamained unsold.
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.
