IPL 2017 auction: Ben Stokes, Tymal Mills hit jackpot; heartbreak for Ishant Sharma, Imran Tahir, Irfan Pathan

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 saw plenty of action as English cricketers hogged limelight with Ben Stokes and T20 specialist Tymal Mills emerging as the two most expensive players after being bought for Rs 14.5 crore and Rs 12 crore respectively.

While Rising Pune Supergiants looked determined to sign Stokes at all costs, Royal Challengers Banglaore dug deep into their pockets for Mills, who was quite impressive with his variation during the recently concluded three-match T20I series against India.

Other players who made news were Trent Boult, Pat Cummins and Chris Woakes, these were among the top 5 costliest players at the auction today.

Among the unsold players, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Imran Tahir were three names, who did not find a single buyer. All three players were recalled after they went unsold in the morning session but the team owners showed no interest whatsoever in signing them.

With England hosting South Africa in a one-day series in May, Stokes is set to miss the final phase of the April 5 to May 21 tournament, yet the bidding surged from his base price of 20 million rupees.

England`s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan went to Kings XI Punjab for a relatively modest R 2 crore, which was his base price. The left-hander was expected to fetch more price, thanks to his stupendous knocks in the limited-overs series against India.

Delhi Daredevils bought Australian paceman Pat Cummins for 45 million rupees, while compatriot Mitchell Johnson, who quit international cricket in 2015, returned to his former team Mumbai Indians for 20 million rupees.

Mohammad Nabi became the first Afghanistan player to be bought in the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad offering a three million rupee bid for the all-rounder.