Punjab Kings break IPL auction record to sign England's Curran

The all-rounder returns to the franchise for a staggering sum of 185 million Indian rupees

FILE PHOTO: Cricket - England v South Africa - ODI series - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - July 22, 2022 England's Sam Curran celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa's David M

England all-rounder Sam Curran became the Indian Premier League's (IPL) most expensive ever buy in the players' auction on Friday as the world's richest cricket league spent big ahead of the 2023 season.

Curran returned to the Punjab Kings for a staggering sum of 185 million Indian rupees ($2.23 million) following a fierce bidding war involving the Chennai Super Kings.

Curran previously played for the Punjab Kings in 2019.

The fee surpassed the previous highest bid of 162.5 million rupees, paid by the Rajasthan Royals for South African all-rounder Chris Morris last year.

The previous record fee paid for Morris was broken once more on Friday, with Mumbai Indians paying 175 million rupees for Australian all-rounder Cameroon Green.

The Chennai Super Kings made up for missing out on Curran by signing England red-ball captain Ben Stokes for 162.5 million rupees.

Batsman Harry Brook, who has made waves since his England Twenty20 international and test debuts this year, became the first millionaire of the day after being signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan and England batter Joe Root went unsold.