England star Jos Buttler was sold to Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League auction on Sunday.
He previously played for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and his old team did bid aggressively to retain his services but Gujarat Titans picked him up eventually for £1.4 million ($1.8 million).
With the auction beginning on Sunday and continuing through Monday, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history after the record was broken twice in the first hour of bidding at the auction in Saudi Arabia.
Pant was secured by Lucknow Super Giants for £2.54 million ($3.19 million) just minutes after IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer had gone to Punjab Kings for a then-record £2.51 million ($3.16 million).
Australian left-armer Mitchell Starc, who last year became the IPL’s most expensive player, went to Delhi Capitals for £1 million ($1.3 million), down from £2.3 million ($2.9 million) a year ago.
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Brendon McCullum says he’s very confident in Jos Buttler’s position as white ball skipper and wants him to enjoy playing for England again.
Which England players are involved?
England-qualified players in IPL auction: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Sam Billings, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Ben Duckett, Leus du Plooy, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Dan Lawrence, Liam Livingstone, Tymal Mills, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, John Turner, James Vince, Luke Wood, Dan Worrall.
When is the tournament?
The IPL is set to start on March 14 and run until the final on May 25. Fixtures have yet to be announced but every game will be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports.
Who are the defending champions?
The reigning champions are Kolkata Knight Riders, who defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the 2024 IPL final to secure their third title overall and first in a decade.