Sam Curran, who was part of England’s T20 World Cup winning squad and was also the player of the tournament at the 2022 World Cup, is one of 21 men who have set a maximum reserve price of INR 2 crore (about USD 246,000) for the 2023 IPL auction scheduled on December 23. There isn’t a single Indian player in the 2 crore tier, including England Test captain Ben Stokes, Australian allrounder Cameron Green, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, and Nicholas Pooran, who just stepped down as West Indies white-ball skipper. At the auction, a maximum of 87 players (squad strength of 25 apiece) can be purchased, with 30 of them being international names. The auction will take place in Kochi on December 23. The original long list, which the IPL shared with the 10 franchises on Thursday, has 991 players (714 Indian and 277 from other countries). The IPL will trim this down based on feedback from franchisees, who have until December 9 to respond to tournament officials. In an unusual move, no Indian player is placed in the top listed price range of INR 2 crore. The list of 19 capped Indians consists primarily of former national players such as Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, and Mayank Agarwal. Rahane was released by Kolkata Knight Riders after being purchased for one crore in the last auction. This time, his starting price is INR 50 lakh. Ishant is looking for INR 75 lakh after going unsold in 2022. Agarwal was the first player retained by Punjab Kings prior to the mega auction last year and was also named captain of the team. However, a disappointing season for both the player and the team pushed Kings to dismiss Agarwal, who had been paid INR 14 crores last season. Agarwal has set his starting price at one crore. Jaydev Unadkat, a left-arm fast bowler who has been among the highest-paid players in IPL auctions, has set his starting price at INR 50 lakh. Unadkat, who guided Saurashtra to the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, where he is the leading wicket-taker, was released by the Mumbai Indians, who had signed him for INR 1.3 crore in 2022. The sequence in which a player’s name is called out for bidding has been the most eagerly anticipated aspect of an IPL auction, whether mega or mini. And, typically, franchises place a high value on the names in the marquee set, which opens proceedings. Curran, Stokes, Williamson, and Pooran are likely to be included in this group, as is Agarwal.