High rank, big bucks: The high-ranking T20I stars who had a good payday at the IPL 2023 auction

Quite a few India and international stars went under the hammer on Friday at the IPL 2023 Auction in Kochi and some of the high-ranked T20I stars had massive paydays as franchises splashed their cash.

Here, we take a look at the highly-ranked players in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings that were bought at the IPL 2023 Auction.

Only players having T20I ranks inside the top 10 in any of the three categories have been considered for the list.

T20WC to IPL: How performers cashed in at the auction

Auction Price: Bought by Delhi Capitals for INR 4.6 Crores
ICC T20I Rankings:#8 for batters

While Rossouw went unsold in the first set of player sales, he came back in the accelerated round of the auction and invited attention from Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.

The South African star eventually joined the likes of David Warner, Rishabh Pant and Anrich Nortje at Delhi for INR 4.6 crores.

Rossouw, who made a comeback to international cricket in 2022, has 372 runs in T20Is in the year, averaging 46.5 while striking at a rate of 176.3.

The left-hander was one of the only two centurions at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia earlier in the year.

Auction Price: Bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad at a base of INR 2 crores
ICC T20I Rankings:#3 for bowlers

The England bowling star, who played a pivotal role in the knockout stages of England's T20 World Cup triumph in Australia this year, was a bargain buy for Sunrisers Hyderabad at his base price.

The leg-spinner has taken 19 wickets in the year in T20Is, but his most significant performances came in the last three must-win games for England at the T20 World Cup.

He picked up 1/16 in his four overs against Sri Lanka in the must-win Super 12 clash to claim the Player of the Match award. Against India in the semi-finals, he finished with 1/20 from his four overs, taking the big scalp of Suryakumar Yadav.

In the final against Pakistan, Rashid took 2/22, sending back Mohammad Haris and skipper Babar Azam during his four-over spell.

Auction Price: Bought by Rajasthan Royals at a base of INR 1.5 crores
ICC T20I Rankings:#7 for bowlers

Zampa was picked up by Rajasthan Royals in the accelerated round of the IPL Auction for his base price of INR 1.5 crores.

The Aussie leg-spinner has never dropped out of the top 10 of the ICC T20I Bowling rankings since 2018 and has been one of Australia's best bowlers in the format in recent times.

Zampa finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker for Australia at the 2022 T20 World Cup, taking five wickets while going at an economy rate of 6.66.

He is Australia's second-highest wicket-taker this year in T20Is with 17 wickets at an average of 23.88.

Auction Price: Bought by Punjab Kings for 18.5 crores
ICC T20I Rankings:#5 for bowlers

The Player of the Tournament at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Sam Curran fetched the biggest price in the IPL Auction history when he was sold for 18.5 crores to the Punjab Kings.

The English all-rounder, who also won the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan, finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament in Australia with 13 scalps to his name.

Playing a pivotal role in England's T20 World Cup triumph with his death bowling definitely played a part in Curran's huge payday at the IPL auction.

Auction Price: Bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at a base of INR 1.5 crores
ICC T20I Rankings:#1 for all-rounders

The top-ranked T20I all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan won a bid for INR 1.5 crores late in the auction with his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders happily welcoming him back.

Shakib has 11 wickets and 349 runs in T20Is in the year for Bangladesh, including a 2/33 against India in the crunch T20 World Cup clash in Adelaide, where he sent back Suryakumar and KL Rahul and effected the run out of Dinesh Karthik.

The all-rounder has 252 rating points in the all-rounder category and is a highly-rated multi-skilled player in this format.

Auction Price: Bought by Punjab Kings at a base of INR 50 lakhs
ICC T20I Rankings:#4 for all-rounders

Sikandar Raza found his first IPL gig when he was picked up by the Punjab Kings for his base price of INR 50 lakhs. The Zimbabwe all-rounder has had a stellar year in T20Is, rising to No.4 in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's T20 Rankings for all-rounders.

Raza had a superb T20 World Cup in Australia, where he was the highest run-scorer and the second-highest wicket-taker for Zimbabwe.

Overall in 2022, Raza's aggressive batting in this format attracted attention as did his bowling which was remodelled with the help of Sunil Narine.

Raza ends 2022 with 735 runs in T20Is at an average of 35 and a strike-rate of over 150. His most stellar showing in the year, however, came with the ball when his three-for and superb run out played a part in Zimbabwe's one-run victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.

Auction Price: Bought by Kolkata Knight Riders at a base of INR 1 crore
ICC T20I Rankings:#6 for all-rounders

The 37-year-old Namibia all-rounder has had a superb time in T20Is in the last couple of years, racking up over 300 runs and taking 17 wickets with the ball.

The hard-hitting all-rounder was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for his base price, making him the first Namibian player to be signed by a franchise at the IPL Auction.

Wiese becomes one of the rare picks by a franchise from an Associate country after his lusty late-order hitting and bowling was deemed valuable by Kolkata.