IPL Auction 2023 LIVE: Head sold for $1.22m, no bids for Smith

We’re running through the all-rounders now. No more Aussies for the time being but there have been a few big deals elsewhere.

New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell joins the Chennai Super Kings for $2.5 million, Indian all-rounder Harshal Patel goes to the Punjab Kings for $2.1 million, South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee joins the Mumbai Indians for $893,000, Indian quick Shardul Thakur is snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings for $715,000 and Afghanistan’s World Cup breakout star Azmatullah Omarzai joins the Gujarat Titans for (a bargain) $89,000.

Talented New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra is snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings for a relatively cheap $322,000, while Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga joins Sunrisers Hyderabad for $268,000. Shardul Thakur goes to the Chennai Super Kings for $715,000.

Karun Nair and Manish Pandey have gone unsold.

Now it’s Pat Cummins time. Cummins is regarded as an all-rounder in the IPL for his lower-order hitting, and arguably made more of an impression with the bat than the ball the last time he played in the competition.

Steve Smith.Credit: Getty

He may have impressed in the BBL for the Sydney Sixers in the past year but Australian batting star Steve Smith has not impressed the IPL franchises, going unsold in the first round of bidding.

Smith last played in the IPL in 2021, struggling to 135 runs from eight innings with a strike rate of 112 and a high score of 39. Over his IPL career he averages 34.5 at a strike rate of 128.

World Cup hero Travis Head is the first Australian to be sold in tonight’s IPL auction, going to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for 6.80 crore ($1.22 million).

The million-dollar boost caps a dream year for Head, who struck two centuries in the World Cup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are coached by Australia assistant coach and former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori.

Travis Head celebrates his century in the World Cup final.Credit: Getty Images

Mallika Sagar, the first female auctioneer in the IPL’s 16-year history, kicks things off and West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell is sold to the Rajasthan Royals for 7.40 crore ($1.32m).

No bids for South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw, and England’s Harry Brook goes to Ricky Ponting’s Delhi Capitals for 4 crore ($720,000). Next up is Travis Head.

Players will be grouped into sets for tonight’s auction, based on their speciality – batters, all-rounders, fast bowlers, spinners and wicket-keepers.

The batters will be up first in bidding, with World Cup-winning Australian stars Steve Smith and Travis Head in the first batch to go under the hammer.

There are already plenty of Aussies with jobs on the coaching staffs of IPL franchises. Ricky Ponting coaches the Delhi Capitals, with Shane Watson and James Hopes among his assistants; Justin Langer coaches the Lucknow Super Giants; Trevor Bayliss is in charge at the Punjab Kings, where Brad Haddin is an assistant; and Michael Hussey is a batting coach at the Chennai Super Kings.

It’ll be interesting to see if that increases the likelihood of Australian players snapping up big deals at those teams.

Test great and Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting with Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.Credit: Getty