IPL Auction 2023 Highlights: Sam Curran banks 18.5 crore, Rajasthan buy Joe Root as all-rounders dominate auction

"It’s about having the right balance, so far so good and fingers crossed. It’s lovely to have Sam back. We had him bat 7-7.5 a few years ago and then Chennai had him. These top-up auctions are always dynamic. Sam is world-class, is 24, played over 140 matches so far. And happy to have Raza with us, it’s good to have a Zimbabwean in the IPL," PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia said. 

Shreyas Gopal has been overlooked by IPL teams at the mini-auction. The Karnataka spinner has failed to fetch any buyers. He entered the auction at a base price of INR 20 lakh. Spinner M Ashwin is also unsold at the mini-auction. Himanshu Sharma has been signed by RCB for INR 20 lakh. Kerala's S Midhun is unsold. 

Bengal seamer Mukesh Kumar is the next Indian pacer who has sparked a mini-bidding war between the IPL teams. The bid to sign the Bengal pacer was launched by CSK. DC forced CSK's exit from the bidding race when PBKS took the lead with the INR 4 crore bid. DC ended up signing the Bengal pacer by placing the winning bid of INR 5.5 crore. Moving on to set No. 10 which features uncapped spinners and Chintal Gandhi is unsold. 

Vaibhav Arora has been signed by KKR at INR 60 lakh. Yash Thakur is sold to LSG for INR 45 lakh. Mujtaba Yousuf and KM Asif are unsold. Lance Morris has joined the duo on the unsold list. Former KKR star Shivam Mavi has sparked a bidding war between RR and GT. Mavi is sold to GT for a whopping sum of INR 6 crore. 

KS Bharat will play for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023. The bidding for Bharat ended at INR 1.2 crore. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter entered the auction with a base price of INR 20 lakh. N Jagadeesan has joined KKR for INR 90 lakh. Railways keeper Upendra Yadav has joined SRH for INR 25 lakh. Mohammed Azharuddeen is unsold. 

Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who entered the IPL auction at INR 20 lakh, has been overlooked by all 10 IPL teams. He is unsold. CSK have signed Nishant Sidhu for INR 60 lakh. Dinesh Bana, Sumit Kumar, and Shashank Singh are unsold. 

Saurashtra's Samarth Vyas has joined SRH at his base price of INR 20 lakh. Jammu and Kashmir's Vivrant Sharma has been signed by SRH for an eye-watering sum of INR 2.6 crore. Vivrant entered the auction at his base price of INR 20 lakh. Former SRH star Priyam Garg is unsold. Sanvir Singh, who entered the auction at the same price, is sold to SRH. 

Anmolpreet, LR Chetan, Shubham Khajuria and Rohan Kunnummal have failed to attract any buyers as the Indian batters are unsold at the mini-auction. Meanwhile, Shaik Rasheed has been roped in by CSK. Delhi's Himmat Singh is unsold. 

The upcoming set features exciting uncapped Indian batters. Shubham Khajuria, Rohan Kunnummal, LR Chetan, Shaik Rasheed, Anmolpreet Singh, and Himmat Singh will hope to feature in the 2023 edition of the cash-rich league. 

England spinner Adil Rashid has joined 2016 champions SRH for IPL 2023. Akeal Hosein failed to attract any buyers at the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Soon, Australia’s Adam Zampa followed suit as he was unsold at his base price of INR 1.50 crore. South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi has also joined the unsold list. The final name from the set, Mujeeb ur Rahman is also unsold. 

Fresh from making his Test return, Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat will play for LSG in the IPL 2023. The Saurashtra star received the opening bid comes from LSG which proved to be the winning one. Adam Milne is unsold while Jhye Richardson has joined Mumbai Indians. Senior pacer Ishant Sharma has returned home as the veteran speedster will play for Delhi Capitals. 

England’s tall left-arm pacer Reece Topley will play for Virat Kohli-starrer RCB in the IPL 2023. The England star has joined RCB for INR 1.90 crore at the mini-auction. Meanwhile, England's Chris Jordan, who entered the auction with base price of INR 2 crore is unsold. England batter Phil Salt has joined Delhi Capitals for INR 2 crore. 

South Africa's Henrich Klaasen has joined SRH for INR 5.25 crore. SRH defeated DC to acquire the services of the South African power-hitter for IPL 2023. England's Tom Banton and Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis are unsold at the mini-auction.

RR, CSK and Delhi Capitals were involved in a three-horse race to sign Pooran. LSG placed a whopping bid of INR 7.5 crore before DC countered with another lucrative bid for the former West Indies skipper. DC opted to back out from the bidding race after the bid reached INR 16 crore. SOLD! Pooran has been roped in by LSG for INR 16 crore. Pooran, who was sold for INR 10.75 crore in the previous edition of the IPL auction, will play for KL Rahul-led LSG next season. 

Bangladesh's star batter Litton Das has failed to attract any bids at the IPL 2023 mini-auction in Kochi. Das entered the auction with a base price of INR 50 lakh. Next up is Nicholas Pooran, who has entered the IPL 2023 mini-auction with a base price of INR 2 crore. 

"Green is someone we’ve tracked for 2-3 years and we thought he’s exactly what we needed. He fits the right age profile for us; we’ve been looking for younger players for a few auctions," Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani was quoted as saying. 

England Test captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes entered the auction at a base price of INR 2 crore. RCB and RR were battling for Stokes' signatures before CSK turned it into a three-horse race. LSG pushed the bidding war to INR 7 crore before CSK placed a staggering bid of INR 15.25 crore. LSG were upstaged by CSK, who placed the winning bid of 16.25 crore to sign the England all-rounder. Stokes will play for CSK in IPL 2023! 

Cameron Green has been roped in by Mumbai Indians! The bidding war is being spearheaded by RCB and MI for the Australian all-rounder. Delhi Capitals also joined the bidding war and later, the bid reached INR 16.50 crore for the Australian all-rounder. In the end, it was Mumbai Indians, who came up with a winning bid for Green. Green has joined MI for INR 17.5 crore! 

Rajasthan Royals have signed Jason Holder for INR 5.75 crore! The asking bid for the West Indies all-rounder was INR 2 crore. CSK and RR exchanged heavy bids to sign the star player. However, it was RR, who came up with the winning bid for Holder. Australia's Cameron Green has entered the mini-auction at his base price of INR 2 crore.

West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith has joined Gujarat Titans at his base price of INR 50 lakh. Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza will play for PBKS. He has joined PBKS at his base price of INR 50 lakh. Jason Holder is up next! 

Sam Curran is all set to shatter IPL auction records in Kochi. A bid of INR 18 crore has been placed for Curran. Punjab have raised the bar by placing an improved bid. SOLD! Sam Curran will play for Punjab Kings. He has been roped in by PBKS for INR 18.50 crore. 

Chennai Super Kings are leading the race to sign England all-rounder Sam Curran. With Punjab Kings making their presence felt, the bidding war has reached the INR 15 crore mark at the mini-auction in Kochi. CSK have countered the bid and PBKS have responded again to sign the England all-rounder. Lucknow Super Giants have also entered the race to sign the England all-rounder for INR 16 crore! 

Bangladesh Test captain Shakib Al Hasan is unsold. The veteran all-rounder listed himself at INR 1.5 crore for IPL 2023. England's Sam Curran is the next name drawn from the second set. A massive bidding war is underway for the English all-rounder, who played a crucial role in England's successful T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year. 

Former England skipper Joe Root has failed to attract any buyers at the mini-auction. Root is unsold again! The Englishman listed himself at INR 1 crore for the IPL 2023 auction. Joining Root in the unsold list is Rilee Rossouw, who has failed to entertain any bids. Rossouw listed himself at INR 2 crore.

SRH have signed Indian opener Mayank Agarwal for INR 8.25 crore. Former Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has been roped in by MS Dhoni's CSK. Rahane listed his base price at INR 50 lakh. Chennai were the first to make a move for Rahane. Rahane will play for CSK in IPL 2023!