Kochi, Dec 23 (Agency) England batsman Harry Brook on Friday became the first massive millionaire of the day. He was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs 13.25 crore at the 2023 IPL Auction after an intense bidding war. Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were engaged in the competition in the opening round of bidding, but the latter dropped out of the bid when the bid reached Rs 5 crore. At this stage Hyderabad entered at Rs 5.25 crore, and there ensued an intense bidding between Hyderabad and Rajasthan franchises.Rajasthan raised the baton at Rs 10 crore, but in quick reply Hydrabad leaped forward to Rs 10.25 crore. Eventually it was the franchise with the biggest purse that managed to bag him. His base price was at Rs 1.50 crore.Brook, who offers stability in the middle order, has already established himself as one of the batting pillars in the shortest format.
He has scored 372 runs, at an average of 26.57 and a strike rate of 137.77 in 20 T20I matches.In the recently concluded Test series against Pakistan, Brook struck three centuries by facing some of the world’s best bowlers. He became the youngest centurion for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.Sunrisers Hyderabad also grabbed Myank Agarwal after an intense bidding war with Chennai Super Kings. He was sold for Rs 8.25 crore.Kane Williamson was sold to Gujarat Titans at his base price of Rs 2 crore. Ajinkya Rahane went to CSK for Rs 50 lakh.England’s Joe Root and South Africa’s Rillee Rossouw went unsold at Rs 1 and Rs 2 crore base prices.As many as 405 players are going under the hammer. However, there are only 87 slots available to the teams, with a total purse of Rs 183.15 crores.