Australia’s Josh Hazlewood landed a $A1.44m (£758,000) deal to join Royal Challengers Bangalore on the first day of the Indian Premier League action, with England all-rounder Liam Livingstone sold to Punjab Kings for £1.125m ($A2.14m) on day two.
Paceman Hazlewood was one of four Australian internationals to earn million-dollar deals on the first day of the auction in Bengaluru on Saturday, with national team captain Pat Cummins (Kolkata), Mitch Marsh and David Warner (both Delhi) also in the seven-figure club.
Marsh and Warner will team up at the Ricky Ponting-coached Delhi Capitals, while Cummins has again been snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders. The big surprise on day one was that Steve Smith went unsold, failing to attract a single bid at his opening price of $A372,000 (£195,740) – although there is still time for the Australia batter to land a deal on day two.
Livingstone saw his price rocket following a breakthrough 12 months – fetching more than £1m in 2022 compared to £74,000 last year, despite scoring only 42 runs in five innings for Rajasthan Royals. The Lancashire all-rounder enjoyed a sensational summer in white-ball cricket, and becomes the fourth-highest English player sold at an IPL auction.
Jonny Bairstow joins Livingstone at Punjab Kings for a £655,000 fee after being selected on Saturday. Jofra Archer was signed for eight crore (£782,845) by Mumbai Indians despite ongoing injury problems. Mumbai have also recruited Tymal Mills, with Mark Wood joining Lucknow Super Giants for £735,000 and batter Jason Roy heading to the other new franchise, Gujarat Titans.
Meanwhile, auctioneer Hugh Edmeades has provided an update on his health after collapsing midway through the auction’s first day, with organisers later saying he had suffered from low blood pressure. Charu Sharma, an Indian sports commentator, stepped in to replace him.
“I want to thank all those people around the world who sent me good wishes,” Edmeades said in a video posted on the IPL’s official Twitter account. “I am very sorry I can’t be with you in person today. As you can see, I am absolutely fine but I just felt I wouldn’t be able to give a 100% performance.”
The biggest earner of the first day was India’s exciting 23-year-old opening bat Ishan Kishan, who was bought again by the Mumbai Indians for £1.49m (A$2.83m).