English players hit the jackpot at the TATA IPL Auction 2023

Sam Curran creates record at IPL auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) welcomed Sam Curran, Cameron Green, Ben Stokes, and Harry Brook to the billionaire club on a crazy day of auctions in Kochi on Friday. Sample this: Rs 18.5 crores for Curran, Rs 17.5 crores for Green, Rs 16.25 crores for Stokes, and Rs 13. 25 crores for Brook, all this defines how much the world’s richest club cricket tournament is ready to splurge on the big barons of T20 cricket.

If proof was needed winning the ICC T20 World Cup would fetch rewards for the winners, the English players walking away with the booty-grabbed eyeballs. Yes, this is money for jam. Yes, this is mega bucks, even when you convert the amount into British Pound sterling, for, even the English media is salivating over the deals.

People are already talking about how the auction has been like Santa Claus coming two days before Christmas for the Englishmen as well as some other players like Mayank Agarwal. The former Indian opener, who virtually has no big role today in Indian cricket, was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 8.25 crores.

It is not as if only these big guys won deals, even smaller players realized that playing white ball cricket in the fast and furious format is rewarding. Sample this, on a day when Rishabh Pant smashed a 90-plus in the Test match against Bangladesh, the IPL auction was being viewed more. It’s not to suggest that Pant bouncing back to batting form in red ball format is meaningless, but how the billions of dollar babies clinching deals arouses the interest of society at large. It does not have to do just with the cricketers, IPL franchises, and those involved with running the event. Even the business media is interested in this auction as it brings into focus the money willing to be splurged in cricket.

IPL valuation keeps soaring each and every season

Sam Curran fetched big money at the TATA IPL auction

For years, the valuation of the IPL has been soaring. Two years after the IPL was launched, it was called a “billion-dollar baby.” Today, it’s not about the entire IPL being a “billion dollar baby” but how individuals are breaking the billion mark. How and why defies logic. None of the team owners comes to the table minus a plan. Today, players are bought not just for their cricket value. They can be sold in one year at a higher price, like a blue chip.

This is the real business model of the IPL which shows that the world’s best sporting leagues have a lot to learn from the Indians. Today, the world is in an economic recession, inflation is hurting the common man. More money chasing fewer goods is the classic definition. Out there in the IPL, the Englishmen, who were skeptical about this league at the start of the IPL, now realize they need Indian money. Players are willing to get roasted in the heat and dust of India. A far cry from the days when Englishmen who ruled India would run to Mussorie and Ooty as summer capitals!

Now it is all about Capital (money). Make moolah, become servants of Indian team owners, and compete in the IPL circus. You can be jealous, you can be envious and you can be critical of the sums being splurged. Eventually, what has been proven over and over again is the IPL is recession-proof, growing at a rate that brings to all the 10 team owners smart returns. It does not matter if the team is winning or losing, the teams are still making money.

Back to pure cricket, the “purchase” of key players is exciting for fans of Chennai Super Kings. This is one team that has slipped down the performance ladder in the last few years. Makes no difference, the owners of CSK have faith in MS Dhoni and his boys/men. Sample this, Dhoni, Stokes, Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be part of the CSK.

Also Read: IPL 2023 auction: Check full squads of the 10 teams

If these guys get going on tracks that are belters, rival team bowlers will be going through nightmares. CSK know they have massive fan backing. Likewise, each big team realizes few bad losses do not matter. As long as they have marquee names on their list, the teams look attractive, on paper, they are not bothered about money being spent. Even a team like Punjab Kings has loosened the purse strings. By the time the auction is complete and one looks at the 10 teams and does a SWOT analysis, it could well be like looking at players in the form of ornaments. Long live IPL. Bigger, fatter, and billions being shelled out.

Also Read: “Har English players sold nahi hote”- Twitter reacts as Joe Root goes unsold in IPL 2023 auction

#About the Author

S Kannan

(382 Articles Published)

S.Kannan is a sportswriter with 35 years of experience. He has covered four Olympics, multiple Asian Games and the Grand Slams. Kannan has watched all sports at the grassroots level, national level and international level. He also does appear on radio shows. At First Sportz, Kannan is Lead Editor and Mentor.

Comments

Please login to join the discussion.

Be the first to comment!