Christchurch-born England cricketer Ben Stokes has become the highest paid international player in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
English all-rounder Ben Stokes Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The T20 specialist fetched the equivalent of about NZ$3,000,000 from former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming's Rising Pune Supergiants.
That easily eclipsed the just over NZ$1,000,000 New Zealand's Trent Boult fetched at the auction last night and the NZ$1,600,000 paid for Brendon McCullum by the team now known as the Gujarat Lions in 2015.
The actual amount received by Stokes, who is likely to miss the end of this year's IPL season due to international commitments, will depend on how many games he plays.
There are few people more pleased by the news than Stokes' Christchurch-based father Ged Stokes who was watching the bidding with his English based son.
