Team India batter Sanju Samson has become the highest-paid player in Kerala Cricket League (KCL) history after being bought by the Kochi Blue Tigers during the auction for the league’s second season. Samson, who was signed for ₹26.8 lakh, is expected to bring star power and experience to the Kochi franchise.
Sanju Samson is set to feature in his first major tournament under the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) since his controversial omission from the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) squad in December 2024. The Kerala team reached their first-ever Ranji Trophy final, where they finished as runners-up to Vidarbha.
Sanju Samson Becomes Most Expensive Player in Kerala Cricket League Auction History
Sanju Samson drew attention at the Kerala Cricket League auction. He was listed at a base price of ₹3 lakh, but offers quickly jumped to ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh within moments. Thrissur Titans raised the bid to ₹20 lakh before eventually being outbid by the Kochi Blue Tigers.
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Kochi secured Samson’s services for a record ₹26.8 lakh, making him the most expensive player in the league’s history.
The Kochi franchise has now used more than half of their ₹50 lakh total purse on one player. With only ₹23.2 lakh remaining, the team faces a tough task in assembling the rest of their squad while maintaining overall balance and depth.
🚨 SANJU SAMSON – MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYER IN KCL AUCTION 🚨
– Each team can spend 50 Lakhs in auction.
Kochi Blue Tigers spend 26.80 Lakhs just for Sanju Samson, more than half of the Purse 🤯 pic.twitter.com/f7OsjQPNl6
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 5, 2025
Sanju Samson smashed three T20I centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa. The Kerala-born cricketer became the first batter to hit three T20I hundreds in a single calendar year. Samson featured in the IPL 2025 season for Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he scored 285 runs across nine innings.
The batter struggled with injuries, which forced him to miss a few matches. He started the tournament as an Impact Player in the first three games but later suffered an abdominal injury during a match against the Delhi Capitals (DC), which ruled him out of five matches.
Samson has had a long association with Rajasthan Royals since joining them in 2013. After a brief spell with the Delhi franchise from 2015 to 2017, he rejoined RR in 2018.
The auction is taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Thiruvananthapuram and is being overseen by seasoned auctioneer Charu Sharma. Each franchise is allowed a budget of ₹50 lakh to build a squad of 16 to 20 players.
M S Akhil, who fetched the highest bid last season at ₹7.4 lakh from Trivandrum Royals, was picked this year by Aries Kollam Sailors for an improved ₹8.4 lakh.
Fast bowler Basil Thampi was the first player to go under the hammer and was picked by the Royals for ₹8.4 lakh. Meanwhile, Vishnu Vinod emerged as the second-highest earner of the day, acquired by Aries Kollam for ₹13.8 lakh. All-rounder Jalaj Saxena went to Alleppey Ripples for ₹12.4 lakh.
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