IPL Auction 2023: "SunRisers Hyderabad Disappointed To Not Get Ben Stokes" - Muttiah Muralitharan

SunRisers Hyderabad was one of the busier teams during the Indian Premier League 2023 Auctions on Friday, December 23rd in Kochi.

The Hyderabad-based franchise made huge acquisitions this season in Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal, and then bolstered their roster with Heinrich Klaasen and Adil Rashid, among others.

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Ben Stokes, an all-rounder for England, was the one player that eluded them and ended up being Chennai Super Kings’ biggest acquisition of the competition. After spending Rs 13.25 crore on Harry Brook, SRH struggled to pursue Ben Stokes and gave up when the bid reached Rs 15 crore.

Stokes was planned as one of the big purchases in the auction, as per SRH bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan, who mentioned it at the auction. He acknowledged that Brook turned out to be a stretch, which is why their ability to compete with the other teams in Stokes’ bidding process was compromised.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has set a price range of Rs 15-16 crore for Ben Stokes: Muttiah Muralitharan

Stokes might have been the top all-arounder/captain prospect for SRH in the near future after they let go of Nicholas Pooran and their captain Kane Williamson. However, unless they want to hand it to Mayank Agarwal, the previous captain of the Punjab Kings, they might have to settle for one of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Aiden Markram for the captaincy post for now.

Muralitharan claimed that SRH had set a price range for Ben Stokes of Rs 15–16 crore, which was barely shy of the Rs 16.25 crore that CSK paid for him in the 2023 auction.

Sam Curran received the largest cash in IPL history on that particular day, making England players the highest-paid athletes overall. Brook became one of the most expensive young players ever to be sold in an IPL auction.

Also Read: IPL Auction Live Updates 2023: Players Bought By CSK, RCB, SRH, KKR, MI, GT, LSG, PBKS, RR, DC, Players List, Remaining Purse Value

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