Remember the Name “Sam Curran“, a 24-year-old English All-rounder who broke all the previous records of most expensive buys at the IPL Auction. Even though it was supposed to be a Mini Auction, but the demands and prices were Mega. 3 English players to be precise – Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Harry Brook were sold for very high prices due to their performances in the last 12 months.
Sam Curran is a record-breaker 💰
He has been sold to Punjab Kings for INR 18.5 crore (about £1.95 million), INR 2 crore more than the previous record.#IPL2023 #IPL2023Auction pic.twitter.com/oEtzqiC510
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 23, 2022
Indeed, it is a good time to be an English cricketer, Sam Curran bagged 18.5 Crores from Punjab Kings, Ben Stokes arrived for 16.25 Crores to 4-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Harry Brook joined Sunrisers Hyderabad for a sum of 13.25 Crores. All-Rounders were always going to be in high demand for teams in IPL 2023.
CSK and MI both have had history of efficient All-Rounder from West Indies and for the first time both of them will be without Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard since 2011 season. They were looking to fill the void left by two great All-rounders and they filled it successfully. CSK bought the services of Ben Stokes while MI were able to get their target for the last 2-3 years Cameron Green.
Stokes and Green were bought for a relatively lowered price of 16.25 Crores and 17.50 crores respectively. Meanwhile, it was Punjab Kings who got the ultimate reward after buying Sam Curran for a record breaking 18.5 Crores. He is back to where it all started for him in the IPL. Curran was expected to get an amount over 10 Crores and some of the franchises including Lucknow and Mumbai were in the race before Punjab Kings brought him back for the 2023 season.
The 24-year-old has had an outstanding 2022 with England, winning the ICC T20 World Cup and taking home the Man of the tournament award. Curran was also named as the man of the match in the final against Pakistan for figures of 3/12. In total he picked up 13 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 6.52 Per over.
It wasn’t a dream 🏴❤️ pic.twitter.com/iB86Ell5S9
— Sam Curran (@CurranSM) November 14, 2022
Sam Curran has been playing in the IPL circuit since 2019 but missed the 2022 season. In his 3 seasons with Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings, he played 32 matches, scored 337 runs and picked up 32 wickets. His best season came in 2020 for CSK as the All-rounder amassed 186 runs with 13 wickets to his name.
With Johnny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada and Sam Curran, Punjab Kings are looking very balanced with all sides covered. Can Punjab Kings finally land their first ever IPL trophy in 2023?
Also Read – IPL : Top 5 Most Expensive Indian Players
