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Ben Stokes Lands Record $2.1M Indian Premier League Contract

England cricketer Ben Stokes "has become the highest paid overseas cricketer" in the 10-year history of the Indian Premier League after securing a £1.7M ($2.1M) contract during Monday's auction, according to Ali Martin of the London GUARDIAN. His int'l teammate, Tymal Mills, "was another big winner on the day" with a £1.4M ($1.8M) deal. Stokes, 25, "was the subject of a bidding war" between franchises before Rising Pune Supergiants "eventually secured his services for seven times his original reserve price." Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, who secured £1.2M IPL deals in '09, "are the only English cricketers to have previously drawn such eye-watering numbers." Away from the English recruitment, "perhaps the biggest breakthrough came with deals for Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan," who became the first from Afghanistan to sign for IPL teams (GUARDIAN, 2/20). Martin reported in a separate piece Stokes described the moment he became the highest paid England cricketer of all time as "complete carnage." Stokes became the second-biggest IPL auction sale after a £1.9M deal for India’s Yuvraj Singh two years ago. He said, "It’s a life changing amount of money. I was following on Twitter, I didn’t actually see the auction live. I kept on refreshing. I saw people were tweeting and then I realized that Pune had got me. I wasn’t sure how much a crore was. It was complete carnage" (GUARDIAN, 2/20). The BBC reported Mills "will be available for the whole tournament as he is limited to playing T20 cricket because of back pain." However, England's other players "may not be available for the 10th edition of the competition" because of int'l commitments as England hosts Ireland in one-day internationals on May 5 and 7 (BBC, 2/20).

CUMMINS, JOHNSON PROFIT: In Melbourne, Jon Pierik reported "reborn" Australian Pat Cummins and former int'l "spearhead" Mitchell Johnson have "also profited handsomely" in the IPL auction. Cummins was "another player of major interest, and was eventually sold to Delhi" for A$875,000 ($672,400). He rekindled his int'l career this summer in the sport's limited overs forms after "major back problems." Johnson "emerged from retirement this summer" and was sold to Mumbai for A$390,000 ($300,000). There was "no joy" for the Big Bash League's "leading wicket-taker," Sean Abbott, or the BBL's leading run scorer, Ben Dunk, "who were overlooked" (THE AGE, 2/20). FOX SPORTS reported Australian cricketers will take home more than A$11M ($8.5M) for seven weeks' work. A total of 22 Australians have scored contracts in the "world’s richest Twenty20 competition" for '17 (FOX SPORTS, 2/20). Pierik reported in a separate piece next year "looms as the mega IPL auction, for the contracts of all players will expire, and most will go back into the auction aside from those franchises are allowed to retain" (THE AGE, 2/20).

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