Sam Curran has become the most expensive player in the history of IPL auctions after being bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 18.50 crore in the 2023 IPL auction.
Curran beat the earlier record set by Chris Morris when he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 16.25 crore in the 2021 IPL auction.
It was Mumbai Indians who opened the bidding for Curran at Rs 2 crore and it escalated very quickly, reaching Rs 4 crore in a matter of seconds.
RCB and Mumbai were the two teams to bid for him initially before RCB pulled out at Rs 6.25 crore, but that was when Rajasthan joined the bidding. At Rs 10 crore, Rajasthan held the bid before Mumbai upped it by another 25 lakh, making it Rs 10.25 crore.
And then Chennai Super Kings joined the bidding for their former player, with Punjab Kings also entering the party. At one point, Punjab held the bid at Rs 14.50 crore, before CSK upped it to Rs 14.75 crore.
Lucknow then joined the bidding at Rs 15.75 crore before Mumbai re-entered the bidding only for Punjab to bag Curran's.
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Sam Curran came into the auction as one of the most sought-after players in the pool, having starred in the 2022 T20 World Cup where he won the Player of the Match award in the final and was also named the Player of the Series.
The 24-year-old all-rounder has been part of the T20 league before, having played for Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings. He made his league debut in 2019 when he was bought by Punjab for Rs 7.2 crore, but was released after one season. MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings then bought him ahead of the 2020 season for Rs 5.5 crore and he played for the franchise for two seasons before missing the 2022 season due to a back surgery.
In his 32 IPL matches, Curran has scored 337 runs at a strike rate of 149.77, and picked 32 wickets.
The 2023 IPL auction is taking place in Kochi with a total of 405 players going under the hammer. The 10 teams released some players after the 2021 season and now have a collective total of 87 spots to fill, with each franchise allowed a maximum of 25 players in their squad. In the 87 sports open, only a maximum of 30 overseas players can find a new team.
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