Brook shares disbelief at becoming IPL millionaire after earning huge £1.3m deal

24 January 2023 , 09:23

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Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Harry Brook four around £1.3m (Image: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Harry Brook was one of three members of England's T20 World Cup winning squad to become millionaires in last month's IPL mini-auction, with the 23-year-old getting bought for a whopping 13.25 crore (£1.3m) by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Brook's teammates Sam Curran and Ben Stokes went for even more, with Curran joining Punjab Kings for 18.5 crore (£1.85m) and Stokes getting signed for 16.25 crore (£1.6m) by Chennai Super Kings.

And while Curran became the most expensive signing in IPL history, and Stokes is Chennai's biggest ever buy, Brook is the most expensive specialist batter ever signed at a mini-auction. Unsurprisingly he has been struggling to digest the figure and news.

His fee surpassed the 7.75 crore (£775,000) West Indies star Shimron Hetmyer was signed for in 2020 and, although Brook was confident he would be signed, he was left shocked by the Sunrisers' winning bid.

"I've not got many words, to be honest," he told the Daily Mail. "I thought I'd get picked up, but I didn't think I'd get picked up for that much.

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"One thing I would say is that I'm not motivated loads by money. Obviously, it's a nice touch, but I just want to play cricket for the best teams and play for England as long as I can.

Brook was part of the England side that won the recent T20 World Cup (Hamish Blair/REX/Shutterstock)

"Yes, the IPL was a big dream for me and the money is a big bonus, but it is not the be all and end all. I play because I love batting."

When the auction took place, Brook was out at a cafe with his family to celebrate his sister Rosie's birthday and struggled to find a way to watch what was going on. "I couldn't find it streaming anywhere, so I messaged my agent and a few mates trying to find a link," he added.

"Then, [England bowler] Matthew Fisher FaceTimed me, and propped his phone up so I could watch it off his TV. It was very blurry, so I just kept asking, 'What's it up to now?' every couple of minutes."

Matthew Cooper