IPL 2023: Bidding war for England's Harry Brook; SRH signs him for INR 13.25 crore

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won the bidding war for England's Harry Brook during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction on Friday.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) made the first bid for Brook, whose base price was INR 1.5 crore. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) jumped in and the two were involved in a few bids before SRH entered at INR 5.25 crore. The 2016 champions eventually secured the England batsman at INR 13.25 crore.

The 23-year-old Brook is known to be great against spin and scores at an excellent pace. The middle-order batsman, who made his international debut earlier this year, was also a part of England's side that won the T20 World Cup in Australia this year in October-November. However, he managed just 56 runs in five innings.

In England's recent tour of Pakistan, Brook was named the Player of the Series in both the T20I and Test series. Brook finished as the leading scorer in the Test series with 468 runs in three games at an average of 93.60, while he scored 238 runs in seven T20Is.

Having played 20 T20Is for England, Brook has scored 372 runs at a strike-rate of 137.77, including a half-century. The English batter has been playing T20s since 2018, having scored 2,432 runs in 99 games, including a century and nine half-centuries. He has played in various T20 leagues across the globe, including Big Bash League (BBL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Brook was a part of the first set at the IPL 2023 auction on Friday, which included just capped batsmen. While Brook was the most expensive buy in the first set, the next player from the next highest bid was Indian batter Mayank Agarwal, who also joined SRH. The Orange Army bought the former Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper at INR 8.25 crore.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson joined Gujarat Titans (GT) at his base price of INR 2 crore, and CSK secured Ajinkya Rahane at his base price of INR 50 lakh. England's Joe Root and South Africa's Rilee Rossouw went unsold.