IPL 2023: Punjab Kings to chase ‘IPL CURSE’ in Season 16, costliest player seldom wins IPL Trophy: Check OUT

IPL 2023: England all-rounder Sam Curran is back with the Punjab Kings. The left-armer was bought by the Punjab Kings for a staggering INR 18.50 crore, which is the highest in the history of the league. However, both the Punjab Kings and Sam Curran could be chasing an IPL curse come IPL 2023. The curse is that the costliest player at the auction seldom wins the IPL Trophy. Given the history and the Punjab Kings’ extravagant nature when it comes to spending at the auction, the chances are pretty high that the record will stay intact next season. Follow IPL 2023 updates with InsideSport.IN.

Most Expensive IPL Player: Punjab Kings BREAK Bank for Sam Curran, SIGNS Englishman for WHOPPING SUM of 18.5 Crores – Check Out

IPL 2023: Punjab Kings to chase ‘IPL CURSE’ in Season 16, costliest player seldom wins IPL Trophy: Check OUT

Record Alert 🚨

Sam Curran 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙄𝙋𝙇!

He goes BIG 🤯- INR 18.50 Crore & will now play for Punjab Kings 👏 👏#TATAIPLAuction | @TataCompanies pic.twitter.com/VlKRCcwv05

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) December 23, 2022

With Punjab Kings spending a record amount for Sam Curran, they would be hoping for positive returns from the world’s premium all-rounder at the moment. There is a small problem – the IPL curse.

If one just takes a look at the IPL most expensive players since the start of the T20 league things don’t look bright for Punjab Kings and Sam Curran. Call it the pressure of expectations or all the limelight surrounding the most expensive players tag, the team hasn’t benefited from the same.

IPL Curse: Explained in detail

Let’s take a look at the records. In 2008 auction, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the most expensive player, and his team Chennai Super Kings finished lost the final to Rajasthan Royals off the last ball.

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were the most expensive players in 2009, each individually fetching $ 1.55 million. Flintoff’s CSK were eliminated in the semi-finals, while Pietersen’s Royal Challengers Bangalore finished runners-up that year.

New Zealand’s Shane Bond and West Indies’ Kieron Pollard were the most expensive players in 2010. However, Bond’s Kolkata Knight Riders finished sixth on the points table, while Pollard’s Mumbai Indians finished second. So close, yet so far.

The story continued in 2011 as well. This time for Kolkata Knight Riders who paid $ 2.4 million to buy Gautam Gambhir but their season ended in the elimination final. The team was placed fourth in the final points table. In 2012 CSK bought Ravindra Jadeja for $ 2 million and ended as the tournament’s runner-up.

The year 2013 was the only exception when a team that bought the most expensive player also emerged as the winner. Mumbai Indians bought Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for Rs 5.3 Crore and managed to win the title. They defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

In addition to this, there have been a total of six instances when the teams made up the most expensive buys and finished as the runners-up.

Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was the most expensive buy for both 2014 and 2015. However, both of his teams, RCB and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) finished at the 7th spot.

The curse continued in 2016 when Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was the most expensive player but his team RCB finished as the tournament’s runner-up. In 2017, Ben Stokes was the most expensive player, and his team, the Rising Pune Supergiants, was the runner-up. In 2019, Ben Stokes went to Rajasthan Royals, but his presence couldn’t turn the Royals into champions as they finished at the number 4th spot.

Between 2019 and 2022 – five different players, two overseas and three Indians have been the most expensive players for their respective franchises at the IPL auction, but none of them have managed to win the IPL title for their teams that season.

Now, all eyes turn towards Sam Curran. His presence did the trick for England at the ICC World Cup. Will he prove lucky for the Kings who since the inception of the IPL are looking for their maiden T20 crown?

Talking about Curran’s performance, he was the second-highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cup this year with a total of 13 scalps, with best bowling figures of 5/10. The 24-year-old is also a solid batter, with 1,731 T20I runs in 109 innings at an average of 20.85 and nine fifties.

Punjab Kings IPL 2023 Full Squad

Name	Nationality	Role	Price
Shikhar Dhawan (Captain)	India	Batsman	8.25 Crore
Bhanuka Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka	Batsman	50 Lakh
Harpreet Bhatia	India	Batsman	40 lakh
Atharva Taide	India	All Rounder	20 lakh
Liam Livingstone	England	All Rounder	11.5 crore
Raj Bawa	India	All Rounder	2 crore
Rishi Dhawan	India	All Rounder	55 Lakh
Shahrukh Khan	India	Batsman	9 crore
Harpreet Brar	India	All Rounder	3.8 Crore
Sam Curran	England	All Rounder	18.50 crore
Jonny Bairstow	England	Wicketkeeper	6.75 crore
Prabhsimran Singh	India	Wicketkeeper	60 Lakh
Jitesh Sharma	India	Wicketkeeper	20 lakh
Sikandar Raza	Zimbabwe	All Rounder	50 lakh
Arshdeep Singh	India	Bowler	4 crore
Baltej Singh	India	All Rounder	20 Lakh
Kagiso Rabada	South Africa	Bowler	9.25 crore
Nathan Ellis	Australia	Bowler	75 Lakh
Rahul Chahar	India	Bowler	5.25 Crore
Vidwath Kaverappa	India	Bowler	20 lakh
Mohit Rathee	India	All Rounder	20 lakh
Shivam Singh	India	All Rounder	20 lakh