England all-rounder Sam Curran has been sold to the Punjab Kings for a record Rs 18.50 crore for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2023.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green was sold at a wopping cost of Rs 17.50 crore to Mumbai Indians. Marking the third most highest paid IPL players is Ben Stokes (16.25 crore ) for Chennai Super Kings.
Sam Curran’s entry fee was INR 2 crore. The Mumbai Indians (MI) were the first to make a bid for Curran. And the bidding battle between MI and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) begins. Raising of paddles at both tables becomes frenetic as the offer approaches Rs 6 crore.
The bid was back and forth between MI and the Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, RR regained the lead at Rs 11.5 crore. MI had tapped out.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) then made an offer of Rs 11.75 crore.
MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming have returned to Curran to play any part at CSK.
PBKS also made an offer for Sam Curran, whose first IPL franchise was Punjab.
CSK took the lead at Rs 15.25 crore when the bid soon surpassed Rs 15 crore.
As the bidding battle proceeded, PBKS increased the paddle.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bid Rs 15.75 crore. They must fill the Holder-sized gap. The offer was for Rs 16.5 crore. Sam Curran received the highest offer in an IPL auction.
Curran was the second-highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup this year, with a total of 13 scalps and best bowling stats of 5/10.
The 24-year-old is also a capable batsman, having scored 1,731 T20I runs in 109 innings for an average of 20.85 and hitting nine fifties.
