Abu Dhabi, Dec 16 (IANS) Australian allrounder Cameron Green batted for the biggest pay cheque at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction here at the Etihad Arena, when three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired his services for a whopping price of Rs 25 crore, while reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru bought India allrounder Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 7 crore.
Registered as a batter, owing to a goof-up by his manager during the player auction registration, Green went past the previous record set by his Australia teammate Mitchell Starc, who was bought by KKR for Rs 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction.
Cameron made his IPL debut in the 2023 season after Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him for Rs 17.5 crore. Notably, at the time, he became the second most expensive overseas player in IPL auction history, besides being the most expensive Australian player.
Most recently, he played in IPL 2024 for RCB. In 12 innings, he made 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25. Picked up 10 wickets in 13 matches with the ball at an economy rate of 8.61. Has also played for Mumbai Indians - from where he was traded.
Further down the capped batter's list, South Africa's David Miller went to Delhi Capitals at a base price of Rs 2 crore, while India's Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan and New Zealand opener Devon Conway, along with Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, went unsold.
In the capped all-rounder slot, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquired the services of Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), while RCB bagged Venkatesh for Rs 7 crore.
Meanwhile, other capped all-rounders, including England's Gus Atkinson, India's Deepak Hooda, New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra, and South Africa's Wiaan Mulder, remained unsold.
--IANS
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