The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction got underway in Kochi and as many as 405 players went under the hammer and the Sunrisers Hyderabad made a few interesting changes in the players retained and released list in November.
SRH decided to let go of skipper Kane Williamson following his underwhelming season last year and they were in search of a candidate to fill that spot. Furthermore, having released a good chunk of their side, the franchise had INR 42.25 crore going into the mini-auction, the highest amongst all the teams.
The franchise began a bidding war with Rajasthan Royals for Harry Brook as slow and steady lifting of paddles was seen for the young English lad. Brook was eventually bagged by the Sunrisers for a massive INR 13.25 Crores.
He is now SRH’s most expensive player, beating Manish Pandey (INR 11 crore in 2018). He also became the most expensive specialist batter ever sold at a mini auction, surpassing Shimron Hetmyer (INR 7.75 crore by Delhi Capitals ahead of 2020 season).
Having been with Sunrisers Hyderabad for three seasons since 2019, Abhishek wanted another outing with the team in the upcoming IPL season.
When bidding for his name began, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad were pitted against each other, bidding aggressively. Placed at a base price of ₹20 lakh, the left-arm spinner and left-handed batter from Amritsar was eventually picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping ₹6.5 crore.
Thrilled to be with his favourite franchise again, 21-year-old Abhishek said, “My game has elevated so much being with the best players and great support staff. I am excited to train under Mutthiah Muralitharan as bowling coach and Brian Lara as batting coach.”
His record for Punjab comprises 358 runs with two half-centuries and eight wickets in nine first-class matches.
The highest paid cricketer:
Harry brook (₹13.25 crore)
England star Harry Brook triggered a massive bidding war in the IPL 2023 Auction, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Kochi on Wednesday. The 23-year-old was eventually roped in by SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ₹13.25 crore, but it wasn’t easy for the franchise, who finished in eighth position last season. With a base price of ₹1.5 crore, initially Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) decide to go Brook, and the bid shot up to ₹4 crore. The race then went up to ₹5 crore as SRH too joined into the race, and then put ₹7.25 crore, followed by RR taking it upto ₹8 crore
But SRH didn’t give in and took the bid upto ₹8.25 crore, and then RR fought back with a bid of ₹8.50 crore. With the bids crossing the 12 crore mark, SRH finally reigned supreme at ₹13.25 crore.
Making his T20I debut this year, Brook has played in 20 T20 games for England, registering 372 runs with a high score of 81. He was part of England’s T20 World Cup-winning squad and played an important role. In five games, he registered 56 runs.