Mumbai: The thrilling day of the Tata IPL 2023 mini auction in Kochi witnessed high-octane drama with franchises breaking the bank on all-rounders. The auction recorded a significant 25 per cent growth in cumulative reach (live, cricket and build-up programming included) with 50.6 million viewers tuning in to watch the event live on Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of IPL 2023.

The IPL 2021 mini auction recorded 40.6 million viewers. The total consumption this year also registered a 10 per cent growth with 1.59 billion minutes as compared to IPL 2021 mini auction which garnered 1.44 billion minutes.

To enhance the viewing experience and bring fans closer to the auction table, Star Sports announced a stellar panel for the IPL 2023 Auctions featuring some of the most renowned experts who have in-depth knowledge of auction strategies and player recruitment. Some of the panellists for the mini auction were Ian Bishop, Tom Moody, Aaron Finch, Simon Katich, David Hussey, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Subramaniam Badrinath, Irfan Pathan, MSK Prasad, and Amol Mazumdar. Star Sports also invited passionate fans and fan clubs to the studios to watch the auctions LIVE with their favourite heroes.

Speaking about the increase in cumulative reach, a Star Sports spokesperson said, “This year’s auction panellists on Star Sports were handpicked to provide the best insights to our viewers. To cater to the needs of our diverse audience, we also provided a comprehensive broadcast of the auction in five different languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Furthermore, our social campaign, #AuctionStar trended as high as #3 on Twitter and was in the Top 10 for the duration of the auction.”

England’s Sam Curran emerged as the most expensive player with Punjab Kings snapping him for Rs 18.50 crore. Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was roped in by Mumbai Indians for Rs 17.5 crore with Ben Stokes landing with Chennai Super Kings for Rs 16.25 crore.