England all-rounder Ben Stokes has become the Indian Premier League’s most expensive foreign player after Rising Pune Supergiants bought him for £1.7m.
The 25-year-old England all-rounder was expected to be the hottest property at the glitzy auction in Bangalore, and so it turned out as his price soared.
Stokes’ value was confirmed in the first round of the auction, at around 4:30am UK time shortly before England’s Twenty20 specialist fast bowler Tymal Mills was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4million.
Exactly a week after discovering he will be England’s new Test vice-captain, a substantially more lucrative deal was therefore waiting for Stokes on the breakfast table in Durham on Monday morning.
He will be joined at the IPL in April and May by his England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, snapped up by Kings XI Punjab for £240,000, and their international team-mate Chris Woakes – who fetched around £500,000 and will play for Kolkata Knight Riders.
The duration of their stay has yet to be confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board, but it is thought likely Stokes will not be among those required back to face Ireland in two one-day internationals in early May – while Morgan almost certainly will.
Stokes, due to fly with Morgan et al to the Caribbean on Wednesday for three ODIs against West Indies, has been valued at only slightly less than the all-time record IPL fee of £1.9million paid by Delhi Daredevils for India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh two years ago.
He is among 10 England players hoping their IPL stint would be confirmed on Monday, after ECB director Andrew Strauss made clear several times over the past year that exposure to the high-profile franchise Twenty20 tournament is preferable if possible between international fixtures.
Stokes, Woakes and Mills will be taking part for the first time, while Morgan has been a regular for several seasons.
Of England’s other hopefuls, Sam Billings and Jos Buttler will be involved too – not via the auction but on existing deals with Delhi and Mumbai Indians respectively.