Uncapped James Coles becomes most expensive player in inaugural Men's Hundred auction

Young English uncapped talent James Coles became the most expensive player in the inaugural Men's Hundred auction after being purchased for £390,000 by London Spirit. Coles was expected to attract significant interest following his rapid rise, leading to a bidding war before Spirit spent over one-third of their budget on him.

Jordan Cox, the 2025 season's MVP, was bought for £300,000 by Welsh Fire, who also acquired Joe Root for £240,000. Root was the first player auctioned, meaning Fire spent half their budget on these two players. Adil Rashid went to Southern Brave for £250,000, while Tom Curran joined his brother at MI London for £260,000.

David Miller was the first overseas player bought, secured by Southern Brave for £110,000. His South African teammate Aiden Markram was snapped up by Manchester Super Giants for £200,000, the highest for an overseas player. Markram also plays for the Super Giants group in the IPL and SA20.

Abrar Ahmed's move to Sunrisers Leeds for £190,000 drew attention, especially amid pre-auction discussions about Indian-owned teams potentially sidelining Pakistani players. Sunrisers secured Abrar as their top spin target after a bidding war with Trent Rockets. Earlier, Usman Tariq became the first Pakistani player bought, with Birmingham Phoenix spending £140,000.

While players like Finn Allen, Ryan Rickelton, Matt Henry, and Sherfane Rutherford found teams, high-profile overseas players such as Sikandar Raza, Lungi Ngidi, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Azmatullah Omarzai missed out. New Zealand veteran Trent Boult was again picked by an MI franchise, marking his fifth association with them.

Team Squads Overview:

Southern Brave
Retained/Direct: Jamie Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Tristan Stubbs, Jofra Archer
Auction: Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, David Miller, Luke Wood, Ben McKinney, Thomas Rew, Michael Pepper, Tom Abell, Dan Worrall, Caleb Falconer, Nikhail Chaudhary

Welsh Fire
Retained/Direct: Tim David, Ben Duckett, Mitchell Santner, Tom Banton
Auction: Finn Allen, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, David Payne, Dan Mousley, Matt Henry, Sam Billings, Aneurin Donald, Ben Mayes, Danny Briggs, Louis Kimber, Brad Currie

MI London
Retained/Direct: Will Jacks, Rashid Khan, Sam Curran, Nicholas Pooran
Auction: Trent Boult, Tom Curran, Nathan Sowter, James Vince, Sherfane Rutherford, Richard Gleeson, Ollie Pope, Olly Stone, Ollie Sykes, Callum Parkinson, Jason Roy

London Spirit
Retained/Direct: Dewald Brevis, Liam Livingstone, Adam Zampa, Jamie Overton
Auction: Jonny Bairstow, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, James Coles, Mason Crane, Adam Milne, David Willey, Adam Hose, Tymal Mills, James Rew, Matt Fisher

Welsh Fire
Retained/Direct: Marco Jansen, Phil Salt, Rachin Ravindra, Chris Woakes
Auction: Jordan Cox, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Joe Root, Ben Kellaway, Lockie Ferguson, Asa Tribe, Tom Aspinwall, Matt Short, Sam Cook, Jaffer Chohan

Birmingham Phoenix
Retained/Direct: Rehan Ahmed, Donovan Ferreira, Mitchell Owen, Jacob Bethell
Auction: Joe Clarke, Saqib Mahmood, Usman Tariq, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Scott Currie, Laurie Evans, Chris Wood, Ethan Brookes, Mustafizur Rahman

Trent Rockets
Retained/Direct: Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Marsh, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse
Auction: Abrar Ahmed, Benny Howell, Daniel Lawrence, Tom Lawes, Matthew Potts, Tom Alsop, Zak Crawley, Ryan Rickelton, Liam Patterson-White, Ed Barnard, Reece Topley

Manchester Super Giants
Retained/Direct: Noor Ahmad, Jos Buttler, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Dawson
Auction: Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Leus du Plooy, Tom Hartley, Aiden Markram, Josh Tongue, Tim Seifert, Tom Moores, Max Holden, Tawanda Muyeye, George Scrimshaw, Paul Walter