Sam Curran becomes most expensive IPL player ever as England hero banks £1.85m

England all-rounder Sam Curran has become the most expensive player in IPL history, having been signed by the Punjab Kings for £1.85m following his heroics in the recent T20 World Cup.

Curran was named player of the tournament after picking up 13 wickets at an average of 11.38, helping England lift the trophy and become double world champions. The 24-year-old has developed into a death specialist for his country, but is also capable of bowling in all phases of the game.

He is also a genuine all-rounder, having improved his T20 batting markedly in recent years. Having been bought for £1.85m (18.5 crore), Curran breaks former South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris' record as the most expensive IPL player ever.

Morris was bought for 16.25 crore (£1.6m) by Rajasthan Royals in 2021, but his price was also surpassed a second time in this auction by Australia all-rounder Cameron Green.

The 23-year-old, who has only played 21 T20s in his entire career, was sold to Mumbai Indians for 17.5 crore (£1.75m). England Test captain Ben Stokes also went for big money.

He became the Chennai Super Kings' most expensive buy ever as he went for 16.25 crore (£1.6m) after playing a starring role for England in the T20 World Cup final. It is the third time Stokes has sold for more than £1m in an IPL auction, having gone for 14.50 (£1.45m) crore in 2017 and 12.50 (£1.25m) crore in 2018.

England Test captain Ben Stokes was bought for more than £1m for a third time (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Curran, meanwhile, will link up with England teammates Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone at Punjab, as well as former England coach Trevor Bayliss. "Very happy to have him on board," Bayliss said of Curran's addition to the Punjab squad.

"He has a lot of skills with both bat and ball. We had two or three all-rounders in mind, Sam might be lucky he came up first!"

Earlier in the auction, England's Harry Brook also became a millionaire as he was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 13.25 crore (£1.3m). That means he is the most expensive specialist batter ever signed at a mini-auction, surpassing the 7.75 crore (£775,000) West Indies star Shimron Hetmyer was signed for in 2020.