Former West Indies white-ball captain was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for a record USD$1.93million in the 2023 IPL Draft on Friday, the highest price ever paid for a specialist batsman in the Indian Premier League. However, allrounder Sam Curran was sold for a record price of USD$2.2 million as the England all-rounder joined Punjab Kings.

Meanwhile, Jason Holder went to Rajasthan Royals and Odean Smith went to Gujarat Titans.

Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals all got involved in the bidding for Curran, forcing the price up, before Punjab won out.

Curran was outstanding in the T20 World Cup, taking 13 wickets – including 3-12 against Pakistan in the final last month.

There was a clamour for top-tier all-rounders, with Mumbai Indians landing Australia's Cameroon Green for 17.5 crore (£1.75million), 

England Test captain Ben Stokes was wanted by Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow, but it was Chennai who got him for 16.25 crore (£1.65million).

That fee for Stokes matched the previous record for an IPL player, set when Rajasthan signed Chris Morris ahead of the 2021 competition.

New Zealand white-ball skipper Kane Williamson had been the first player available in the auction and went for a bargain 2 crore (£200,000), before a bidding war broke out for England's Harry Brook.

Rajasthan were edged out as he went to Sunrisers for 13.25 crore (£1.325million), the highest price ever paid in an Indian Premier League auction for a specialist batter before Pooran went under the hammer.

Ben Stokes and Sam Curran are among the England T20 World Cup winners who could go for big money in the Indian Premier League auction on Friday.

The 10 franchises have varying amounts of cash to splash in Kochi, where some big names will be up for grabs.

Stokes opted out of the IPL this year, but England's Test captain and Curran, the player of the tournament in their recent World Cup triumph, are two of the 19 overseas players with the highest base price of 2.0 crore – worth just over £200,000.

Chris Morris was sold for a record 16,25 crore in February 2021 and it would be no surprise if that is broken as ambitious franchises shape their squads for the 2023 edition of the tournament.

There are a total of 87 slots to be filled, with up to 30 of those available for overseas players.

Stats Perform highlight what to look out for in the latest auction for a competition that was won by debutants the Gujarat Titans this year.

Sunrisers have money to burn

Sunrisers Hyderabad wielded the axe following a poor 2022 IPL season, having finished down in eighth place.

They suffered eight defeats and reacted by releasing 12 players, including captain and most expensive player Kane Williamson.

Sunrisers have the most money to spend in the auction, with 42,25 crore burning a hole in their pockets. On the other end of the scale, Kolkata Knight Riders only have 7,05 crore to play with.

Hyderabad could opt to re-sign Williamson on a less lucrative deal for the New Zealand skipper.

Curran to break the record?

England all-rounder Curran was outstanding in the T20 World Cup, taking 13 wickets – including 3-12 against Pakistan in the final last month.

Possessing great variation and giving little away, the left-arm seamer is sure to be in demand and could be in for a huge early Christmas present.

Stokes, Williamson, Cameron Green, Rilee Rossouw, Jimmy Neesham and Jason Holder are among the other overseas players with a base price of 2,0 crore.

With a base price of 1,5 crore, Harry Brook could also earn a big pay day for what would be a first IPL after a dream start to his England career.

Pandey and Agarwal under the hammer

Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal are the two Indian players with the highest base price in the auction.

The first Indian player to score an IPL century, Pandey has a base price of 1,0 crore and the same goes for fellow batter Agarwal.

Pandey was released by Lucknow Super Giants, while Agarwal was allowed to leave by Punjab Kings.

Record-breaking teenager Ahmed to cap a dream week

What a story it would be if Rehan Ahmed is picked up in the auction after making history in England's Test win over Pakistan in Karachi.

The 18-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder became the youngest man to make his England Test debut as they secured a 3-0 whitewash and the teenager made a big impact.

Ahmed became the youngest man to take a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in the second innings and would cost at least 0.5 crore – although there are due to be discussions over what his schedule will be after his incredible start on the international stage.

Player of the Match Andre Russell’s six-laden half century and an MVP-like performance from Akeal Hosein helped steer Melbourne Renegades to a four-wicket victory over Brisbane Heat with four balls to spare in their Big Bash clash at Geelong on Wednesday.

Hosein took three wickets and scored a quick-fire 30 for Melbourne after Russell had bludgeoned them back into contention after a Michael Neser’s hat-trick had threatened to deny them victory.

Brisbane won the toss and chose to bat first but were two wickets down for 14 in the third over thanks to Mujeeb ur Rahman and Hosein who claimed the wickets of Max Bryant for five and Colin Munro for eight, respectively.

However,  knocks of 25 from Sam Billings, 29 from Matt Renshaw and an unbeaten Jimmy Peirson helped stage a recovery. However, after a partnership of 61 between Billings and Renshaw both were dismissed by Tom Rogers in the 11^th over as Brisbane slipped to 78-4.

It was soon 96-5 as Rogers dismissed Ross Whitely for 8 in the 15 over.

Hosein took the wickets of Neser (3) and James Bazley (0) in three balls in the 15^th over. Peirson smashed 45 from 30 balls with six fours to get Brisbane to a competitive 138-7.

Rogers ended with 4-23 while Hosein took 3-26 in another solid performance with the ball.

Melbourne’s relatively simple chase of just under seven runs an over, became extremely difficult when Neser ripped through the top order with just nine runs on the board.

He dismissed Sam Harper first ball and then Jake Fraser-McGurk from the final ball of the first over and then in his second dismissed Nic Maddinson for two and Johnathan Wells for a duck in consecutive balls of his second over to leave Melbourne facing defeat.

However, Russell and Aaron Finch staged a recovery would set the team firmly on the path to victory.

Russell hit two fours and six sixes and he and Finch put on 81 for the fifth wicket before he got out caught behind off Mark Steketee for 57 from 42 balls.

Hosein picked up from where Russell left off hitting two fours and two sixes in a 39-run partnership with Finch. He eventually holed out to deep midwicket for 30 from 19 balls off the fifth ball of Steketee’s final over with Melbourne needing just nine from seven balls.

Will Sutherland smashed Steketee’s last ball for a massive six over the midwicket boundary leaving Finch to hit the winning runs, a four over extra cover to seal with victory from Bazley’s second ball of the final over.

Melbourne’s third straight win means they have six points and only trail leaders Adelaide Strikers on net run rate.

Akeal Hosein and Andre Russell played key roles in the Melbourne Renegades opening its Big Bash League season with a 22-run win over Brisbane Heat at Cairns on Thursday.

Rain dashed New Zealand's hopes of a drawn T20 series with India, as the two sides tied their final match on DLS after the heavens opened at McLean Park.

Half-centuries for Devon Conway (59) and Glenn Phillips (54) helped the hosts post a total of 160 all out in Napier, as they sought to level their three-game contest with the tourists. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj each took four wickets for India.

But hopes of a grandstand finish were dashed when both sides were pulled from the field with India on 75-4 in pursuit after nine overs.

That meant Hardik Pandya's side had matched the par score under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, ensuring that with no restart, the match became a rare tie in T20 international cricket.

After a washout in Wellington saw no result, India had run out convincing victors in Mount Maunganui on Sunday to take the lead heading into this final contest.

They therefore hold on to win the series 1-0, with the two teams now set to meet in a trio of ODIs starting on Friday in Auckland.

India restore pride after World Cup

Having fallen short in the T20 World Cup earlier this month, victory over the Black Caps has been a restorative process for India over the past week, despite the weather.

With four wickets down on the scoreboard, there would have been a question over whether they were likely to catch New Zealand's total – but the weather means they have a series win to their name.

Conway and Phillips' efforts in vain

With close to 75 per cent of New Zealand's total posted between them, Conway and Phillips rescued what could have otherwise been a worryingly low score for New Zealand.

Ultimately, with Tim Southee having taken 2-29 off three overs, their efforts might have been enough to see them home, had the weather not intervened.

David Warner has welcomed the chance to have his lifetime ban from captaining Australia reviewed following a change in Cricket Australia's (CA) code of conduct, while lamenting the delay in allowing him to appeal.

CA ruled that the opening batter would never hold a leadership role again due to his part in the 2018 Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

Warner, who was said to have played a key role in Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the Test against South Africa in Cape Town, had been touted as a candidate to replace Aaron Finch as ODI skipper following his retirement from the format in September.

While Pat Cummins was named as Finch's successor last month, the door may be open to Warner captaining his country in the future after CA amended its code of conduct.

Players were previously unable to appeal against sanctions after accepting them, but Warner is relieved to have the opportunity to seek a review of his ban under a new policy.

"I'm not a criminal," Warner said on Monday. "You should get a right of an appeal at some stage. I understand that they put a ban in place, but banning someone for life, I think it's a bit harsh.

"Where it's been disappointing is it's taken this long to get to where it has. It was brought up in I think February this year. So it's been drawn out.

"It's traumatic for me and my family and everyone else that was involved in it. We haven't needed to go back into that detail. We don't need to relive what happened.

"But it's good to get in a position where we are now today. It gives me an opportunity to ring up the integrity unit to have a word to them and put forward my case of, I guess, the 100 hours [of community service] that I did in 2018.

"Basically, all this good behaviour stuff that I've done, I think I have to put forward, so I'm happy to do that."

In a statement released on Monday, CA said: "Players and support staff can now apply to have long-term sanctions modified.

"Any applications will be considered by a three-person review panel, comprising independent code of conduct commissioners, which must be satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify modifying a sanction."

CA's new policy allows for the panel to modify punishments if it is felt the recipient has "demonstrated genuine remorse" or shown good behaviour since the ruling, while they will also consider the length of time which has passed since a sanction was issued.

Suryakumar Yadav struck 111 not out off 51 balls to guide India to a 65-run victory over New Zealand in Sunday's second T20I at Bay Oval.

The sides were foiled by rain in the opening game of their three-match series without a ball being bowled, but India deservedly came out on top in Mount Maunganui.

Suryakumar hit seven sixes and 11 fours to further underline why he is the world's top-ranked T20 batter, while Ishan Kishan chipped in with 36 as India's next highest scorer.

The Men in Blue reached 191-6 and New Zealand fell well short as they were skittled for 126 in the 19th over, with skipper Kane Williamson (61) supplying almost half their runs.

Rain at times threatened the contest, with India 50-1 in the seventh over when players were forced off the field, but play resumed and India wasted no time in wrapping things up.

Spinner Deepak Hooda starred with the ball by taking 4-10 off 2.5 overs, including the last three scalps in the space of four balls.

India shake off World Cup blues

India suffered T20 World Cup semi-final disappointment last week, as did opponents New Zealand, but they bounced back with this well-earned victory.

They have now won each of their past four T20Is with New Zealand, including each of the past four, making this their best ever winning run against the Black Caps in the format.

Southee flourish not enough

Tim Southee gave New Zealand some hope when removing skipper Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Deepak in the final over for his second career hat-trick.

But the damage had already been done by Suryakumar, who raced to a 49-ball hundred en route to 111 in his latest dazzling display with the bat.

New Zealand and India were foiled by rain in Wellington as the opening game in their three-match T20I series was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The teams, both beaten in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last week, were looking to start afresh at Sky Stadium on Friday.

However, persistent rain meant there was no prospect of play, with the first action in the series now set to take place on Sunday at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

The tourists have rested captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for this series, while New Zealand have won their past four multi-game bilateral T20I series and will attempt to extend that to five for the first time.

India were the last team to beat New Zealand in such a series, achieving a 3-0 success a year ago.

Dwayne Bravo has lauded Kieron Pollard on his decision to retire from the Indian Premier League.

Kane Williamson will continue to represent New Zealand in all three formats despite his T20I future being questioned following the Black Caps' World Cup exit earlier this month.

Williamson captained his country on their run to the last four at the tournament in Australia, where they suffered a seven-wicket loss to eventual runners-up Pakistan.

That defeat represented the latest tournament shortfall for New Zealand, who also lost last year's T20 World Cup final to Australia and finished as runners-up to England in 2019's 50-over World Cup.  

At the age of 32, Williamson accepts he must manage his workload, but he will not follow the lead of international team-mate Trent Boult by being selective regarding which formats he plays.

"I love all the formats, for different reasons. In fact, playing the three and changing between them is a challenge that is enjoyable," Williamson told ESPNcricinfo. 

"But having said that, there is a balance to strike in terms of just general volume [of cricket], and that's important.

"Everybody is a little bit challenged by that, certainly some of the players that may have done it for a long time, and you're always looking to be clear with that direction – to stay fresh and focused on what is most important with your involvement in any team." 

World Test champions New Zealand have finished as runners-up at three World Cups across the two shortened formats since 2015, but Williamson is not thinking about the prospect of a transitional period as the country's golden generation comes to an end.

"You sort of hope that whilst you're here, and trying to do as well as you can as a team with all the other individuals involved, that there's a real effort to try and grow the game," he added.

"To try and play your role to the best of your ability, to try and improve as much as you can as a player, hopefully that sort of adds to the depth of cricket that we have.

"Focusing on what's in front of you is what's really important, and in years to come there'll be transition, or there's perhaps transition a little bit earlier – that's always there.

"That's always happening in professional sport, and whoever the next group or crop are, I'm sure they'll have a lot of motivation to want to get better as a team and go even further as a side."

New Zealand will look to bounce back from their World Cup exit when they host the first of three T20Is against India on Friday, with that series being swiftly followed by three ODI meetings. 

Kieron Pollard has ended his Indian Premier League playing career but will remain with Mumbai Indians in the role of batting coach.

Pollard has featured in 13 IPL seasons for Mumbai, winning the tournament five times and also lifting the Champions League trophy twice.

The former West Indies captain on Tuesday announced he has played his last game for the Indians, but will turn out for the MI Emirates in the UAE T20 League.

All-rounder Pollard is Mumbai's second-highest run-scorer with 3,915 and has struck the most sixes for the franchise, clearing the rope 22 times.

The 35-year--old stated: "It hasn't been the easiest decision to make as I will keep playing for a few more years, but I understand that this incredible franchise which has achieved so much needs to transition and if I'm no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either.

"Once an MI always an MI. I am immensely proud, honoured and blessed to have represented the biggest and most successful team in the IPL for the past 13 seasons.

"Most sincerely, I express my deep appreciation to Mukesh, Nita and Akash Ambani [Mumbai's owners] for their tremendous love, support and respect I have always felt and for the confidence they placed in me. I recall our first encounter when they welcomed me with open arms saying, “We are family”.

"Those were not just mere words, but demonstrated by their every action throughout my time with Mumbai Indians."

England's T20 World Cup success can be used as a springboard to cement their status as one of the all-time great white-ball sides, believes Ryan Sidebottom.

A five-wicket win over Pakistan in Melbourne means Jos Buttler's side are the first men's team to hold both major ICC titles, having won the 50-over World Cup in 2019 on home soil.

Victory in Australia means England become just the second team to win the T20 World Cup twice, with Sidebottom having been a member of the 2010 title-winning side.

A failure to capitalise on that initial success meant it was the best part of a decade before they triumphed again in limited-overs cricket, but the former Yorkshire bowler thinks they are primed to push on this time.

"When we won it in 2010, we had an opportunity to go on and build, get better as a nation and we kind of got left behind again," he told Stats Perform.

"But now we have a huge opportunity to become the best, [to be] number one in the world in all formats. We've got the players, we've got the facilities now.

"I think we've got everything. We can achieve great things. I really believe that if we keep moving forward and keep striving to get better and better."

No small part of England's success came from the performances of Sam Curran, with the Surrey all-rounder named player of the tournament for his performances with the ball.

Having been far from an assured first-choice pick before arriving in Australia, the 24-year-old has effectively cemented his place, with Sidebottom feeling he is an invaluable piece of the puzzle now.

"I think he's been amazing," he added. "He's improved so much as a cricket. You throw the ball to Sam Curran, and he makes things happen.

"That's quite a rare commodity for someone. You know he's either going to take a wicket or do something very special. [England] have so many left-armers, but he's been the pick of everyone."

India captain Rohit Sharma admits his side failed to handle the pressure of knockout cricket as they lost by 10 wickets to England in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.

A record-breaking opening stand from captain Jos Buttler (80 not out) and Alex Hales (86 not out) saw the Group 2 winners shattered at the Adelaide Oval.

The pair's stand of 170 set a record for the highest partnership in T20 World Cup history, beating the 168 put on by South Africa duo Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw against Bangladesh last month.

Rohit – a member of the India team that won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007, their only tournament triumph to date – admitted his side did not do themselves justice on the biggest stage in the end.

"When it comes to knockout stages, it is all about handling that pressure," he said. "You cannot really teach how to handle pressure.

"All these guys have played enough cricket to understand that. It's all about handling pressure and keeping calm.

"Look at the [group] stages, when we won that first game, we showed a lot of character. We handled it pretty well, [we] executed our plans.

"It's all about executing [that]. If you don't execute, you'll find yourself in trouble. It's really disappointing how we turned up.

"We were not good enough with the ball. It was not a wicket where a team should chase us down in 16 [or] 17 overs. We just didn't turn up."

England will now face Pakistan in Sunday's final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, while India will turn their attention to a red-ball tour of New Zealand, starting next week.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson says defeat to Pakistan is "a tough pill to swallow" following his side's seven-wicket loss in the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Sydney.

The Black Caps suffered another piece of knockout stage heartbreak in a major tournament after they were chased down at the Sydney Cricket Ground with five balls to spare.

Following defeat in last year's T20 World Cup final to Australia, it marks the latest shortfall for New Zealand in competition cricket, having also been edged in the 2019 World Cup final by England in the 50-over format.

Williamson had no qualms in saying their opponents were the better side on the day, Pakistan reaching a target of 153, but after another missed opportunity he acknowledged it was a hard loss to take.

"I thought Pakistan played nicely and then we managed to wrestle back some momentum," he said after Mohammad Rizwan (57) and Babar Azam (53) ended his side's chances.

"We were put under pressure early, they bowled really well.

"It was thanks to an unbelievable knock from Daryl Mitchell we got some momentum back. At halfway, we thought it [152-4] was a competitive total because we knew the pitch was a used surface - it was tough.

"But it's really disappointing to not make Pakistan work harder for those runs. They were absolutely outstanding and credit has to go to them.

"It is a tough pill to swallow. Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure but if we are honest with ourselves, we should have been more disciplined.

"They deserved to be the winners of that game.

"We have played a lot of good cricket, we have stuck to what has given us a lot of success, but today we weren't at our best. We know the fickle nature of T20 cricket."

Pakistan captain Babar Azam urged his side to relish the moment after reaching their first T20 World Cup final in 13 years with victory over New Zealand.

A wonderful opening stand of 105 from the skipper and Mohammad Rizwan (57) guided them to a seven-wicket victory over the Black Caps in the first semi-final in Sydney, as they successfully chased down 153.

It sends Pakistan into the tournament's showpiece game for the first time since 2009, when they defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets at Lord's to lift the trophy for the first and only time in their history.

Having sneaked into the semi-finals thanks to a shock South Africa collapse against the Netherlands in Group 2, Babar's side could now go all the way - and he says they will celebrate their achievement justly.

"We will enjoy this moment, but at the same time we will focus on the final," Babar said after scoring 53 from 42 balls.

"The way the team performed in the last three matches [has been incredible]. Thanks to the crowd, it feels like we are playing at home.

"We had a really good start with the first six overs, we knew our spinners could then come on later. We were happy to chase around 150.

"Then we had a plan before the chase to attack the first six overs, so we could get the momentum. We knew later on the other players could chip in.

"We don't know who we've got yet, so we will be watching tomorrow, but we have got a few days to get together and discuss that game."

Pakistan will await either India or England, who meet on Thursday in the second semi-final in Adelaide.