5 Most Expensive Players in IPL 2023 Auction

IPL is known as a cash-rich league, and we all know why. The IPL 2023 auction once again showed how an IPL signing can change the fortunes of a cricketer. Franchises had certain players on their radar, and they went all out behind them.

5 players were sold for an amount of more than 13 crores. This figure is quite surprising because it was a mini-auction, and most teams had a small amount in their purse. Here, we will talk about the 5 most expensive players in the IPL 2023 auction. So, let’s start.

Sam Curran

Sam won the player of the match award in this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. He bowled exceptionally well using his skills and variations and was pivotal to England’s triumph. These performances certainly helped his cause as he became the most expensive player in IPL history. Punjab Kings’ side roped him in for a mind-blowing amount of 18.25 crore. Sam Curran made his IPL debut for the same side, and now, he will represent Punjab once again.

But what makes him so special to get this amount in the auction? Let’s first talk about his bowling. Sam is the perfect T20 bowler that a side needs. He can bowl one or two overs in the powerplay, where he can swing the ball and make some early inroads. Then, he has the ability to eke out a wicket in the middle phase using his short ball tactics. Lastly, he can return at the death to bowl two crucial overs.

Curran is extremely hard to get away in the slog-overs. He has a brilliant yorker, uses his variations cleverly, and mixes things up with a quick bouncer. So, he has all the required dimensions in his bowling. But Sam is not just a medium pacer who can contribute with the ball. He has the ability to win the games with the bat in hand as well.

His previous IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings, slotted him in at #3 or #4 to up the ante, and he was quite successful in doing that. His ability to go big against spin makes him a dangerous customer in the middle overs. In addition, Curran is a fantastic fielder who fields in hot spots during the whole 20 overs. So, he can do everything that a franchise could wish for. That is why he is the one of the expensive players in IPL 2023.

Cameron Green

Green was expected to be a hot commodity in the mini-auction. But a bid of 17.5 crores for him must have raised a few eyebrows. The 23-year-old became the second one expensive players in IPL 2023, as Mumbai Indians picked him for the IPL 2023.

But you may be surprised to know that the all-rounder has played only 8 T20 Internationals. Also, his T20 career is just 21 matches old, and he averages just 16 in the format. Moreover, he has got just 5 wickets in these 21 games and went for more than 9 an over with the ball. All these stats look ordinary, don’t they? Then, how on earth did Mumbai Indians spend seventeen and a half crores for him?

Well, he has been picked for sheer talent. Green can start smashing the ball from ball one and is equally dangerous against pace and spin. The 6′ 6″ tall can bowl in excess of 140 kph with the ball. Also, his bowling is not just about pace. He can find seam and swing movement with the new ball and then bowl some quick short balls with the old ball.

That’s not it, there’s one more reason behind his high demand in IPL. You must have heard about IPL teams preferring players who have performed well against India in International cricket. Well, that’s exactly what happened here. In Australia’s tour to India earlier this year, Green smashed 61(30) and 52(21) to catch the attention of the IPL franchises. His fireworks with the bat in that series have given him a deal of $2.2 million with the most successful IPL franchise.

Ben Stokes

CSK bought the star English all-rounder for a sum of 16.25 crore INR. But, there were no surprises as he was expected to get more than 15 crores. It won’t be wrong to say that Ben Stokes is currently the most valuable cricketer in the world. Out of the last three ICC World Cups, he has played two and has been the Player of the Match of the final in both of them.

First, he powered England to their first ODI World Cup win in 2019. Then, he played another match-winning knock in the final of the 2021 T20 World Cup to win another trophy for England. He has won countless matches single-handedly for England and is a true match-winner. So, it won’t be surprising to see him lift his first IPL trophy with CSK this year.

Nicholas Pooran

The wicketkeeper-batsman was released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, for whom he featured in the previous season of IPL. He had a fine tournament with the bat in 2022, as he amassed 306 runs in 13 innings. Pooran’s average of 38.25 and strike rate of 144.34 were impressive in the previous IPL, but SRH didn’t retain him. So, he has listed his name among one of the expensive players in IPL 2023.

Also, his failure in the T20 World Cup in Australia suggested that he might not get a high price in the auction. But he did get a whopping 16 crores against all the odds to surprise everyone. The left-hander is known for his destructive power hitting, and that’s why Lucknow Super Giants have picked him. With KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock at the top, LSG needed a solid middle-order batter, and they have got him now.

Harry Brook

This name was fairly unknown in the cricket world about a year ago. But Brook is now known as one of the emerging stars, and he is already a World T20 champion.

Also, he had a dream start to his International career, and that’s why he has become one of the most expensive players in the IPL 2023 auction. In his 23 innings at this level, he has scored 852 runs, including two half-centuries and three hundreds. So, Sunrisers Hyderabad spending 13.25 crore on him certainly makes sense.

List of 5 Most Expensive Players in the IPL 2023 Auction