"Incredibly grateful to the owners and management for picking me up in the auction"- Sam Curran after signing record deal with Punjab Kings

English all-rounder Sam Curran has expressed his gratitude to the owners of Punjab Kings for acquiring him at a whopping INR 18.5 crore at the auction in Kochi on Saturday, December 23.

Curran, who started his journey with Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2019, became the most expensive signing ever in the history of the IPL.

Taking to his Twitter handle on Wednesday, Curran expressed his delight at representing Punjab again:

“Heading back to where my IPL journey started. Incredibly grateful to the owners and management for picking me up in the auction, I can’t wait to get out to india and play in front of the fans."

Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore started off with the initial bids, which went on until INR 6.5 crore.

Rajasthan Royals then entered the fray and went on a tussle Mumbai Indians before Chennai Super Kings entered at INR 11.75 crore.

Punjab Kings entered the bid at INR 13.50 crore and were involved in a fierce bidding war with Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Supergiants before finally acquiring his services for INR 18.50 crore.

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Can Sam Curran live up to his price tag?

Sam Curran is definitely one of the most sought-after T20 players going around, but whether it is a justifiable pick at this hefty sum remains to be seen.

Sam Curran made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings in 2019 but failed to make a consistent impact for the franchise.

He was bought by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2020 edition, and he didn’t disappoint them.

He made some useful contributions during his two-year stint. CSK gave everything to acquire his services but lost out to Punjab due to a lack of funds.

Curran has played in 32 IPL matches so far, scoring 337 runs and bagging 32 wickets in the process.