IPL 2023: 5 Unexpected moments that took place in the auction

The IPL 2023 auction was an exciting one for a few of the franchises, who broke the bank to secure the services of players, who would be their trump cards in the forthcoming season. The total available slots were only 87, with a total of 405 players on the list.

The franchises managed to fill out 80 spots, while seven remained vacant. Out of them, 51 were Indian players, while the remaining 29 were overseas recruits. Although, it was a mini-auction, with a little less on stake, some moments took the attention of the cricket fraternity.

Here are some highlights of the IPL 2023 auction, which was unexpected from the auction table.

1. Chennai Super Kings going for Ben Stokes

The Chennai-based franchise were expected to sign Sam Curran, who played for them in the 2020 and 2021 editions. Interestingly, they tried hard at roughly until the 15 Crore mark, but the Punjab Kings were successful in securing his services for 18.50 Crores.

CSK, who were in a need of a fast-bowling all-rounder had to try anyone of Cameron Green or Ben Stokes. They entered the bid when Stokes’ value crossed 15 Crores, which was certainly unexpected as they only had around 20 Crores left in the purse.

In the end, the MS Dhoni-led side managed to buy England's red-ball captain for an amount of 16.25 Crores. With this development, the Yellow army has got a terrific player, with all-round abilities and experience to prevail in crunch moments.