Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Stuart Goodwin (now) and Niall McVeigh (earlier)

Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow land IPL contracts in auction – as it happened

Sam Curran has been signed by Kings XI Punjab for 720 lakhs – around £800,000.
Sam Curran has been signed by Kings XI Punjab for 720 lakhs – around £800,000. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

Ali Martin on the auction

Ali Martin's report of the IPL auction

IPL auction ends

And that’s your lot.

So it seems Eoin Morgan’s 11th-hour submission for the auction longlist went overlooked by the eight teams, as he didn’t go under the hammer at all today.

English players always faced a struggle to be picked up, with the visit of Pakistan in May and subsequent World Cup preparation always looking like making them a decidedly short-term investment by the franchises.

Still, man-of-the-moment Sam Curran ended up the highest-paid overseas player in the whole thing. Thanks for following along with us – bye!

Updated

Manan Vohra is first of the three – Rajasthan swoop and take him for 20L.

Next: Rajasthan go in for Ashton Turner, who’s taken at the third time of asking for 50L.

Finally of the three: Riyan Parag. Rajasthan again move – at 20L.

Updated

Aman Khan – nope.
Shrikant Mundhe – sold to Kolkata for 20L.

Auctioner Hugh Edmeades is now asking for nominations of one player from each team to go under the hammer once more … three player names have been submitted …

Still no takers for Australian Dan Christian. Kedar Devdhar is next, and no one comes in for him either. Or Sandeep Warrier. Or Ashton Turner. Or Tanmay Mishra.

Bandaru Ayyappa goes to Delhi, however – for 20L.

Shubham Ranjane goes to Rajasthan for 20L.
Zeeshan Ansari remains unsold.
Joe Denly goes again … at 100L. Kolkata jump in, and he’s the fifth Englishman taken on.

There are now only two teams with overseas player slots free – Kolkata and Rajasthan, with one apiece.

Bidding resumes …

Jalaj Saxena is taken on by Delhi for 20L.
Tushar Deshpande goes unsold.
Murugan Ashwin is Kings XI’s at 20L.
Ruturaj Gaikwad goes to Chennai – again 20L.

Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Harry Gurney and Liam Livingstone are the four English players to have been taken on so far. Next up is the “final accelerated process” which will see the original pool of 351 players further obliterated. Carnage incoming shortly …

Akshdeep Nath is another to find a team – he’s taken on by Bangalore for 360L.

Lots of 2019 IPL plans are now being crushed, however. As squads fill out, plenty of players are passing through without interest. Among them: Rishi Dhawan, West Indies captain Jason Holder and Luke Ronchi.

Dale Steyn is one of the surprises of the auction so far – there’s no interest in him once more.

Another break in Jaipur, and more quickfire bidding in store when teams return to their tables.

Updated

Some earlier-unsold players now return to the table once more.

Martin Guptill’s time comes again. Now the overseas quotas are filling out, Hyderabad take him at the second time of asking for 100L.

Manoj Tiwara remains unsold. And so does England’s Chris Jordan.

Yuvraj Singh does finally find a suitor, however – Mumbai snap him up for 100L.

A host more players go unsold including Akash Parkar, Shrikant Mundhe and Mayank Dagar.

Agnivesh Ayachi goes to Kings XI for 20L. And the same team go in again at the same level for Harpreet Brar.

Bengal’s Prayas Ray Barman is just 15, and has never played T20, let alone IPL, but he attracts a lot of attention in the room – a host of potential suitors soon take the bidding past 100L, and he’s eventually taken on by Bangalore for 150L.

Somerset’s Jamie Overton, less so. No takers at 40L.

Updated

Keemo Paul rounds out Delhi’s overseas quota for 50L.

Laurie Evans is the next Englishman up – but there’s no interest at 40L.

There’s lots of interest in Prabhsimran Singh, an Indian 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman who made headlines at homn when he pummelling 298 from 301 balls in the Punjab Under-23 Inter-District tournament earlier this year after being overlooked by his country’s under-19 side. From a starting price of 20L, bidding reaches 480L – he’s off to Kings XI, and they look thrilled with their acquisition.

Rasikh Dar is off to Mumbai, for 20L. Prithvi Raj Yarra goes for 20L too – to Kolkata.

England’s Liam Livingstone starts at 50L, and he sticks at that amount as Rajasthan Royals snap him up.

Updated

Some fast deals happening now, a far cry from some of the earlier lulls.

Pankaj Jaiswal is Mumbai’s for 20L. RCB get their hands on Milind Kumar for the same amount.

Darshan Nalkande goes for 30L to Kings XI.

Rajasthan then pick up Shashank Singh, also for 30L.

Blank looks when Worcestershire youngster Pat Brown’s time comes – he’s also unsold despite his fine wicket-taking work in the T20 Blast.

Arshdeep Singh is sold to Kings XI for 20L.

Among the others unsold in this segment: Fabian Allen, Sikandar Raza and Ashton Turner.

Harry Gurney has Kolkata on the hook – he goes for 75L.

Dan Christian – he goes unsold.
Manpreet Gony – similarly.
Ali Khan from the US – no takers at 40L.
James Pattinson – nope.

Jamaican Oshane Thomas has the pace to get some paddles in the air though. Rajasthan snap him up for 110L.

Hardus Viljoen follows – he goes for 75L to Kings XI. They are now maxed out on the overseas front.

Yet more photo fun in the room. Himanshu Rana is also accompanied by a pic of another player. He’s also unsold.

Himmat Singh goes for 65L to Bangalore.

England Lions all-rounder Lewis Gregory – unsold.

Nikhil Naik – 20L to Kolkata.

South African Anrich Nortje goes to Kolkata for 20L – they still have two overseas player slots.

Afghan youngster Qais Ahmad goes unsold, as does Satyajeet Bachchav. England’s Joe Denly has a base price of 100L and is another to languish unloved.

Bidding for South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw opens at 150L – no takers for him either.

After a leisurely “45-minute break” – it’s “accelerated auction” time. Cor. Here hearts will be broken in a more timely fashion.

Pravin Dubey. Nope – he’s unsold at a base price of 20L.
Shubham Ranjane. Unsold.
Sherfane Rutherford, an all-rounder from Guyana, who is another apparently being accompanied at the auction by an incorrect photograph (see 13.00) … he sells for 200L to Delhi. He’s their seventh of eight overseas players.

England Lions squad to tour India in 2019

Some England Lions news to bring you. The squads for their tour to India early next year are in. The Lions play five 50-over matches (23-31 January) followed by two Tests against India A (7-10 & 13-16 Feb) …

England Lions 50-over squad

Dom Bess (Somerset)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Danny Briggs (Sussex)
Matthew Carter (Nottinghamshire)
Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire)
Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)
Alex Davies (Lancashire)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
Sam Hain (Warwickshire)
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Jamie Overton (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Jamie Porter (Essex)

England Lions A Test squad

Tom Bailey (Lancashire)
Dom Bess (Somerset)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Danny Briggs (Sussex)
Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire)
Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
Sam Hain (Warwickshire)
Max Holden (Middlesex)
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)
Jamie Overton (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Jamie Porter (Essex)
Amar Virdi (Surrey)

Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore have already maxed out their quota of eight overseas players.

Each franchise is allowed a maximum squad size of 25 – here’s how they currently stand (and where they are on the overseas player front in brackets):

24 players Chennai Super Kings (8/8)
22 Sunrisers Hyderabad (7/8)
21 Delhi Capitals (6/8), Mumbai Indians (8/8)
20 Royal Challengers Bangalore (8/8)
18 Rajasthan Royals (5/8)
16 Kings XI Punjab (7/8)
15 Kolkata Knight Riders (5/8)

Updated

If you missed it earlier, do check out this week’s Spin.

Updated

Indian left-armer Barinder Sran goes for 340L to Mumbai.

R Vinay Kumar goes unsold, along with Kane Richardson (bit harsh from the auctioneer – “back in the bin he goes …”) and Abhimanyu Mithun. Morne Morkel is another big name to pass by unsnaffled, which will please Surrey.

New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson is sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for 160L, but Dale Steyn – after a run of injuries – finds no suitor. It will be interesting to see which overseas players get picked up in the next round as team quotas start to fill up.

Those in attendance in Jaipur are now taking a 45-minute break for high tea. We’ll be back shortly.

Updated

New Zealand veteran Luke Ronchi passes through, as do Mushfiqur Rahim and Kusal Perera.

Heinrich Klaasen is picked up by Bangalore for 50L, but Glenn Phillips then goes unsold.

Sam Curran joins Kings XI Punjab!

Tumbleweed passes through during auctions for James Neesham, Angelo Matthews, Rishi Dhawan, Corey Anderson, Parvez Rasool and Jason Holder.

But up next: England’s Sam Curran – and now we’re cooking. Delhi shake their heads with the bidding up to 500L – Kings XI then enter the fray and face off against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mobile phones are in hand on the Kings XI table … and he sells for 720L to Kings XI Punjab. Just hope they don’t feel they’ve bought the wrong Curran …

Updated

Hugh Edmeades is back at the podium, looking determined.

Usman Khawaja goes unsold at 100L.
Hazratullah Zazai languishes unloved at 50L.
Reeza Hendricks has no takers either.

But South African Colin Ingram piques interest! The left-hander sees a succession of raised paddles smack the price up to 640L – and the 32-year-old will be turning out for Delhi.

After that smattering of excitement – Australia’s Shaun Marsh and India’s Saurabh Tiwary go unsold. As does South Africa’s Hashim Amla.

Updated

Here’s the current state of play with each franchise’s coffers (click for bigger version) …

Updated

More bowlers cross their fingers …

Jagadeesha Suchith – unsold at 20L.
Yuvraj Chudasama – nope.
Zahir Khan Pakteen – base price 40L … not a murmur.
KC Cariappa – not even.
Ravi Sai Kishore – man at back of room yawns.
Murugan Ashwin – several looks at watches round the tables.

The auctioneer is getting frustrated: “You haven’t done a lot of work in the last few sets.” But still he lets them off for another break.

Updated

Back on the bowlers … Aniket Choudhary is up. And away he goes, unsold at 20L.

Ditto Ishan Porel. And Rajneesh Gurbani. And Tushar Deshpande.

Nathu Singh does go, however – the 22-year-old finds favour with Delhi Capitals at his base price.

More wicketkeepers now, of the uncapped variety.

Sheldon Jackson, Baba Indrajith, Anuj Rawat – nope. All unsold.

Ankush Bains goes to Delhi for 20L. KS Bharat and Arun Karthick Basker then pass by without any takers.

Elsewhere … The Spin – is IN!

Updated

Varun Chakravarthy has paddles aloft too – the bidding passes 800L for the mystery spinner. He eventually goes to Kings XI for an eye-catching 840L, and that’s the biggest smattering of post-auction applause the room’s seen so far. From a base price of 20L too.

Jalaj Saxena then goes unsold.

Updated

Back in the room, hammer is in hand again … Devdutt Pakikkal sells rapidly for 20L to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The room is unmoved by Manan Vohra, Sachin Baby and Ankeet Bawane – all go unsold. But Anmolpreet Singh goes to Mumbai for 80L.

Armaan Jaffer, Aksdeep Nath – nope. Sarfaraz Khan does go however– 25L to King’s XI Punjab. Next: no interest for Ayush Badoni.

But left-handed batsman Shivam Dube, on the back of a timely five sixes in five balls during a Ranji Trophy match for Mumbai yesterday, gets the room interested – the 24-year-old goes for 500L to Bangalore.

While they’re taking drinks in Jaipur, a bit more background on why English players might prove a tough sell to IPL franchises this time around.

As the 2019 IPL season runs from 20 March to 19 May, their availability is limited because international and domestic duties would see them expected back in England by late-April. England face Pakistan in Cardiff on 5 May, before five ODIs between 8 and 19 May. And then there’s the small matter of the World Cup at the end of May …

At the very least, you would expect this to tell in terms of the prices teams are willing to bid.

Updated

Meanwhile, this from the BCCI on the sledging did-they, didn’t-they at the second Test in Perth:

There are reports doing the rounds in the media and across social media platforms claiming India Captain Virat Kohli got involved in a banter with Australia Captain Tim Paine during the 2nd Test at Perth.

It is “assumed” that Kohli said, “I am the best player in the world and you are just a stand-in captain”. These claims were based on hearsay and the BCCI would like to bring into notice that no such words were spoken on the field by the Indian captain.

The BCCI got a clarification from the team management about the incident and would like to classify the reports as baseless.

Spinners get their – erm – turn. Rahul Sharma kicks this section off, undramatically – no bids for his leg-breaks just yet.

Australian Adam Zampa is another leggy, but no action here either. “Back in the pot he goes,” says the auctioneer. Same story with Trinidadian Khary Pierre.

And an extremely dull run of attempted auctions sees Fawad Ahmed also go unsold. They now break once again in Jaipur. And there’s still plenty of time for this auction to heat up, thankfully.

Rajasthan see off Delhi in the race for Varun Aaron – he sells for 240L.

Last up in this segment is Mohit Sharma, who turned out for Chennai this year. They seem extremely keen to have him back, but Delhi and then Mumbai go up against them and they end up paying 500L for the paceman.

Ishant Sharma missed this year’s IPL but has 113 T20s to his name. Delhi snaffle him for 110L.

Sri Lanka get in on the action as Lasith Malinga’s name is pulled from the hat. His base price of 200L attracts Mumbai, but – perhaps surprisingly – nobody else, and they are understandably delighted with the acquisition of a player who acted as their bowling mentor this year.

Chennai, Rajashtan and Kings XI face off for Mohammad Shami, a player who offers pace as well as some pretty serviceable stick-wielding at the bottom of an order. He’s off to Punjab for 480L.

Updated

Ali Martin writes:

Jonny Bairstow may be available for just the first four weeks of the IPL next year but with a £245k deal, Sunrisers Hyderbad have clearly taken a long-term view. Teams can retain players on the same price the following season and Bairstow, one of just three players to top 1,000 ODI runs this year, is in his prime years.

Updated

After a brief break in Jaipur, our auctioneer is back wielding a sack full of pace bowlers.

Indian left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat has a fine IPL pedigree, with best figures of five for 25 and a few teams are keen. Rajasthan had him in their ranks last year and they help bidding pass the 500L mark – then 600L … then 700.

Chennai bow out, but King’s XI are also on the hook. It’s the tastiest bidding war so far, and he eventually goes for 840L.

Updated

Jonny Bairstow joins Sunrisers Hyderabad

Next up … wicketkeepers. India’s Naman Ojha is passed over.

Ben McDermott, son of Australia Test bowler Craig, is another whose time has not yet come in this auction.

Jonny Bairstow opens at 150L, and Sunrisers Hyderabad immediately go in for the England man, who will be making his IPL debut. Kings XI help the bidding reach 220L, but Bairstow is Hyderabad-bound.

Bidding for West Indian left-hander Nicholas Pooran gets off to a slow start, but deliberations round a few tables eventually see him go to Kings XI for 420L.

Wriddhiman Saha rounds off this segment, and Sunrisers get him for 120L.

They seem quite pleased …

Updated

Yuvraj Singh, now 36, has 223 T20s behind him, but there are no takers at 100L.

Former Australia international Moises Henriques gets a few murmurs round the tables, but 100L seems to be too rich for most. Punjab nip in for him at the base price.

Axar Patel is next – and there’s plenty of interest for the 24-year-old left-hander. Kings XI and Delhi Capitals both want him. He’s another to reach 500L – Delhi get their man and look extremely pleased to do so.

Updated

Now it’s capped all-rounder time. And Chris Woakes is up. 200L is his base price – this yields some thoughtful-looking conversations around the tables, but no takers this time.

Carlos Brathwaite is next. From 75L, the versatile West Indian – vastly experienced in T20s and with plenty of IPL experience – he’s the first to reach the 500L mark. Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab are both very interested … but Kolkata get their man.

England’s Chris Jordan is next up – and passed over.

India’s Gurkeerat Singh follows, and after a brief auctioneering snafu, where Hugh Edmeades starts the bidding at twice his base price, Royal Challengers Bangalore snap him up for 50L.

Updated

Shimron Hetmyer is the first West Indian player up for auction – the 21-year-old immediately finds interest. Despite having no IPL experience, bidding for the left-handed batsman’s value soon soars from a base price of 50L – Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab initially go head-to-head, but Royal Challengers Bangalore nick in at the last to get him for 420L.

Next up, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum … and there’s collective shaking of heads around the room at the base price of 200L. Ditto for the next man out, McCullum’s compatriot Martin Guptill.

Updated

The auction begins

First out is former Indian limited-overs international Manoj Tiwari, who goes unsold in the first round of sales.

No love for Cheteshwar Pujara at the starting price either.

Third up is the first England player pulled from the hat – Alex Hales. No takers for him at the list price.

Hanuma Vihari is next up, and the India Test player is the first to attract bids. Plenty of interest, and having had a base price of 50L, Delhi get their man for 200L.

Updated

Stuart jumping in here because, you know, news. There will be 351 players in all going under the hammer, with auctioneer Hugh Edmeades overseeing proceedings. Things get under way imminently, stand by your beds …

Here’s Ali Martin on three England players to watch:

Sam Curran: Can a breakthrough summer against India in Test cricket translate to IPL riches? He’s centrally contracted by England and has their blessing to play in the whole thing, was the talk of the franchises a little while ago, so may well get a gig.

Eoin Morgan: Like the rest of the England ODI side, the captain is restricted to just four weeks and must return to UK by 23 April. He’s a late addition to the auction, having originally not made the shortlist. Went unsold last time, so will do well to get picked up.

Pat Brown: Uncapped Worcestershire seamer who finished leading wicket-taker in the Blast during the summer. Low base price and an element of the unknown (he has mastered the knuckle ball, such that the quicker ball is his shock delivery) could see a team looking at the stats, rather than profile, snap him up.

So, these nine players with the highest base price will be up for grabs in 10 minutes or so. That base price is Rs 2 Crore, equivalent to around £220,000 – but the price could go much higher than that.

Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Chris Woakes (England), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Shaun Marsh (Australia), Sam Curran (England), Colin Ingram (New Zealand),
Corey Anderson (New Zealand), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), D’Arcy Short (Australia), Eoin Morgan (England).

Preamble

Welcome to our rolling coverage of the Indian Premier League’s player auction. Between them, the eight teams will pad out their rosters with 70 new players - 50 from India and 20 from overseas.

There’s plenty of English interest, with Eoin Morgan, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran all in the highest price bracket alongside Australia’s Shaun Marsh, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Sri Lanka bowler Lasith Malinga.

That pricey first group of players are going under the hammer in Jaipur any minute now, so stick around.

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
‘People Do Indeed Ask’: Katt Williams Drops Claims About What He Saw When People Hit Up Diddy’s Parties
Katt Williams bring his perspective.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Florida man picks up cold blooded iguana from under a tree and then makes tacos with its meat
TikTok user @gray.davis has a habit of making a meal out of everything, but no one was prepared for this one. Exactly a week ago, he uploaded a video on his profile in which he picked up an iguana from under a tree and used its meat to make tacos,…
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
‘They were disgusted that I was even talking’: Nashville dad takes kids to McDonald’s, ends up realizing they don’t want him there at all
Remember the golden age of McDonald’s? Bright red booths, a dedicated cashier who actually smiled, and a self-serve soda fountain that felt like a sanctuary of free refills. According to one Nashville father, those days are officially buried under a pile of sterile kiosks and gray paint. 
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Miami woman brought a family heirloom to Chicago airport and loses it to the TSA. But why is nobody feeling bad for her?
We’ve all had those mask-off moments at the TSA. The frantic realization that your expensive moisturizer is 4 ounces instead of 3.4, or the internal panic when you forget a stray water bottle in your bag. But one traveler just lived through a tragedy that has the internet screaming at…
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
8 Household Items That Are Secretly Making You Tired (The Toxic Home List)
Do you ever wake up feeling like you haven’t slept a wink, despite getting a full eight hours? We often blame our busy schedules, our age, or our stress levels for our chronic fatigue. However, the culprit might hide in plain sight within your four walls. A hidden system of…
Budget and the Bees
Budget and the Bees
"He says, 'Everyone knows what ****er means there. You can't show that in England. They'll edit it out.'" A wrestling legend shares how Ozzy Osbourne was "the voice of reason" when he appeared on WWE RAW
Trust Ozzy Osbourne to give American broadcasters a lesson in British swearing
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play