Starc shatters Cummins' record for most expensive player at IPL auction

At the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai, Mitchell Starc, a fast bowler from Australia, has broken the record for the highest-priced player. The Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for INR 24.75 crore, which is approximately US$2,982,000. This beats the previous record set by Pat Cummins, the ODI World Cup-winning captain from Australia, whose winning bid was INR 20.50 crore or approximately US$2,470,000, less than two hours before the auction.

In the first bidding round for quick bowlers, Starc was put up for auction. This was the fourth set of the day and two teams, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, were initially interested. However, Gujarat Titans and KKR quickly entered the bidding war as they were the only franchises with over INR 30 crore available in their budget. Eventually, KKR emerged as the victorious team and won the bidding contest.

Starc was last a part of an IPL auction in 2018, wherein KKR purchased him for a sum of INR 9.4 crore. However, he couldn't participate in that season as he was injured at that time, and moreover, he has not played in the IPL since 2015.

Prior to Starc's attempt to break a record, Sunrisers had paid INR 20.50 crore (approximately US$2,470,000) to secure Cummins, fighting off other interested parties such as Royal Challengers Bangalore to acquire him. This payment exceeded the previous record fee of INR 18.50 crore that Punjab Kings had paid for Sam Curran, an all-rounder from England, during the 2023 IPL auction. Cummins had opted not to participate in the 2023 IPL and instead focused on international cricket. His previous auction price was INR 15.50 crore, which was paid by KKR in 2020.

Cummins expressed his excitement about joining the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming IPL season. He mentioned that he has heard a lot about the Orange Army and has previously enjoyed playing in Hyderabad. He also noted that he is happy to see another Australian player, Trav Head, on the team. Cummins is hopeful that they will have a great season and achieve success.

The coach of Sunrisers, Daniel Vettori, expressed that they were able to afford the high price tag on Cummins because they had already filled most of their team positions. He added that another team was also interested, which drove the price up. However, Sunrisers felt that they already had a solid team with the recent acquisitions of Travis Head and Wanindu Hasaranga, and had the budget to make the purchase. Therefore, they were able to comfortably spend that amount without compromising their team composition.

ODI Stars Earn Hefty Pay For World Cup Success

Mitchell was highly sought after by Capitals, Punjab, and Chennai Super Kings. After entering the auction with a starting price of INR 1 crore, he was eventually signed by CSK for a whopping INR 14 crore. CSK also acquired the services of Ravindra for INR 1.8 crore.

CSK were interested in adding Head, the top-performing player in both the ODI World Cup semi-final and final, to their roster. However, they were unsuccessful in signing him as he ultimately joined the Sunrisers, who were able to secure him for a price of INR 6.8 crore.

Mumbai Indians welcomed Coetzee and Madushanka as their initial purchases in the auction, with a grand total of INR 9.6 crore. Coetzee was acquired for INR 5 crore, while Madushanka cost INR 4.6 crore.

Azmatullah Omarzai, a versatile player from Afghanistan, has also found a place in Titans, a cricket team, playing alongside his fellow countrymen Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad.

Indians With No Salary Limits Earn Huge Sums

Dubey was the initial player to be picked, and Capitals were determined to acquire him. However, he was eventually purchased by Royals for a sum of INR 5.8 crore. Soon after, Rizvi's name was mentioned, and if Dubey's price was the most paid for an untested batter with no prior IPL experience, outdoing the INR 5.25 crore that Punjab spent on Shahrukh Khan in 2021, this record was not maintained for long. CSK succeeded in warding off Titans and Capitals to enlist Rizvi's services for a whopping INR 8.40 crore.

Kushagra was on the verge of becoming the top player for Rizvi, but Capitals managed to secure him for a whopping 7.20 crore Indian rupees. Despite facing competition from CSK and Titans, Capitals were successful in acquiring his services.

It was anticipated that there would be a bidding war for Shahrukh, and there was. Punjab, who had released him before the auction, went head-to-head with Titans, and as a result, his value skyrocketed until it settled at INR 7.40 crore, with Titans ultimately acquiring the powerful middle-order batsman.

Big Buys That Will Surprise You

The bidding process for 2024 kicked off with an unexpected twist when Rajasthan Royals secured the services of West Indies T20 skipper, Rovman Powell, for a whopping sum of INR 7.4 crore. This meant that Rajasthan Royals spent over 50% of their total auction budget on this one player. In the previous instance, Delhi Capitals had snagged Powell for INR 2.8 crore during the 2022 auction.

Several Indian Premier League teams were vying for West Indies' quick bowler Alzarri Joseph. The likes of Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, and Royal Challengers Bangalore were all keen on acquiring him. Joseph had been let go by Titans, who had spent INR 2.4 crore on him during the 2022 auction. However, RCB ended up signing him for INR 11.50 crore as they were in need of an overseas fast bowler. Earlier, they had released Josh Hazlewood, Wayne Parnell, and David Willey.

Performance Of Indian Players?

Fast bowler Harshal Patel has become the priciest Indian player at the 2024 IPL auction. The auction for Harshal started with Titans and Punjab competing for him. Later, Punjab and LSG joined the bid for him. Finally, Punjab managed to bag Harshal for INR 11.75 crore.

Versatile player Shardul Thakur (valued at INR 4 crore) is set to make a comeback in his second season with CSK, after being signed up for the same amount. During the previous auction, Thakur had been purchased by Capitals for a whopping INR 10.75 crore in 2022.

The rapid bowlers Umesh Yadav and Shivam Mavi were greatly sought after. Two teams, SRH and Capitals, attempted to secure Umesh, but in the end, Titans managed to sign him for INR 5.8 crore. Mavi, on the other hand, was LSG's initial purchase in the 2024 auction, surpassing RCB's offer by utilizing almost half of their remaining funds to sign him for INR 6.4 crore.

Jaydev Unadkat, who was previously valued at INR 11.4 crore during the 2018 auction, was purchased by Sunrisers for INR 1.6 crore.

Sunrisers purchased Wanindu Hasaranga, an all-rounder from Sri Lanka who specializes in leg-spin, for his base price of 1.5 crore INR. This acquisition serves as a comparable substitution for Adil Rashid, who was previously released. During the 2022 auction, Hasaranga was purchased by RCB for a staggering 10.75 crore INR.

Capitals successfully acquired the services of Harry Brook, a renowned batsman from England, for a hefty sum of INR 4 crore. Brook had initially been bought by Sunrisers for a whopping INR 13.25 crore the previous year but was later let go due to below-average performance in his debut IPL season.

In the initial round of capped batters, Steven Smith from Australia, Rilee Rossouw from South Africa, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair from India were not bought. These players had set their base prices at INR 2 crore. Not many buyers showed interest in capped wicketkeepers and spinners either. Players such as Phil Salt, Josh Inglis, Kusal Mendis, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ish Sodhi, Adil Rashid and Tabraiz Shamsi did not get any bids.