England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has emerged as the most expensive overseas player in the Indian Premier League's (IPL) history, has insisted that the amount of Rs. 14.5 crores that the Rising Pune Supergiants are paying him is a "life-changing" one.
"I'm struggling to put it into words but it's a life-changing amount of money," ecb.co.uk quoted Stokes as saying.
"I can't really say more than that. I'm really thankful and grateful for how it went this morning," he added.
Stokes stole the show in the 2017 IPL auction held on Monday at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bengaluru as he was snapped up for a record sum of Rs 14.5 crores by Rising Pune Supergiants.
The sum also made the England all-rounder second most expensive player to be purchased behind Yuvraj Singh, who was once snapped up for Rs. 16 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Besides Stokes, Tymal Mills was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 12 crores while Chris Woakes was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 4.2 crores.
The likes of Jason Roy and Chris Jordan also went to Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively while limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan went to Kings XI Punjab for Rs. 2 crore.