Ben Stokes caused a sensation at the Indian Premier League player auctions on Monday after Rising Pune Supergiants coughed up a whopping Rs. 14.5 crore to buy the leading England all-rounder. (IPL auction, live updates
It is the highest ever price paid for a foreign player in the marquee franchise league’s 10-year history.
The Pune franchise, to be led by Australian Steve Smith this season, exhausted all but Rs 3 crore of their kitty to bag the biggest player in this year’s IPL auctions.
The 25-year-old Stokes, among the seven players who had the highest reserve price of Rs. 2 crore, triggered a bidding frenzy at the auctions in Bengaluru.
Watson eclipsed
The Rs. 9.5 crore paid for Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was the previous record paid for a foreign player.
It initially involved Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore before Delhi Daredevils and current champions Sunrisers Hyderabad jumped in. In the end, Rising Pune Supergiants, a team launched only last year, netted him.
Ben Stokes has taken giant strides as an impact all-rounder, and displayed his skills in the recent Test and limited-overs series played in India.
{{/usCountry}}Ben Stokes has taken giant strides as an impact all-rounder, and displayed his skills in the recent Test and limited-overs series played in India.
{{/usCountry}}The record buy comes almost a year after Stokes’ heartbreak in India, after West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite’s final over heroics of four sixes saw England’s victory hopes vanish in the final of the World Twenty20 at the Eden Gardens.