England all-rounder Sam Curran has signed for Kings XI Punjab for INR 7.2 crore (approx. USD 1m), while Indian duo Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals) and Varun Chakravarthy (Kings XI Punjab) also proved popular, with both commanding an eye-watering sum of INR 8.4 crore (USD 1.17m).

Sam Curran has won an IPL contract for 2019 worth approximately £800,000!https://t.co/WmvudpHXa7

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 18, 2018

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow was also snapped up – albeit for a cut-price INR 2.2 crore (USD 306,000) – and will likely be available for Sunrisers Hyderabad until Test-match duty beckons in May.

Joe Denly, an unused member of England’s Test team in Sri Lanka who starred for Kent in the 2018 T20 Blast competition, signed for Kolkata Knight Riders for IRN 1 crore (USD 150,000), who also picked up Nottinghamshire’s left-arm seamer Harry Gurney, while Lancashire batsman Liam Livingstone joined Rajasthan Royals.

Liam Livingstone has been bought by the Rajasthan Royals for INR 50 Lakhs in the IPL auction!#IPLAuction | #IPL pic.twitter.com/NfT2Nm5eTX

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 18, 2018

If the story of last year’s auction was Kulwant Kehjroliya’s conversion from part-time club bowler to IPL quick, this year’s is undoubtedly Shivam Dube’s INR 5 crore (USD 694,000) move to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The 25-year-old Mumbai all-rounder hit five consecutive sixes in the Ranji Trophy on the eve of the auction to catapult himself into the reckoning, despite having played just 13 domestic T20 games.

[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]Other notable purchases include Shimron Hetmyer’s move to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 4.2 crore (USD 583,000), the capture of Colin Ingram by Delhi Capitals for 6.4 crore (USD 889,000), and the last-minute base price sale of Yuvraj Singh for IRN 1 crore (USD 150,000) to Mumbai Indians.

Unsold players include Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Brendon McCullum, Alex Hales and Dale Steyn.