Dubai, Dec 19 : Mitchell Starc broke all records by becoming the most expensive player ever in the history of IPL auction after the Aussie pacer was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore at the 2024 IPL auction at the Coca-Cola Arena here on Tuesday.
Soon after auctioneer Mallika Sagar announced Starc’s name, madness ensued with a gasping reaction from the attendees, causing signs of excitement to pour in. Priced at Rs 2 crore, the bidding war for Starc began between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI), but the latter pulled out paving the way for KKR who joined after the bid crossed Rs 12.5 crore.
Thereon, Gujarat Titans (GT) and KKR were relentless, and the reason for the bid reaching Rs 22 crore, creating history for the second time in the day after pipping fellow Australian Pat Cummins who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.5 crore.
Starc will be making a comeback to the IPL after an eight-year hiatus, and was absent from the tournament due to various reasons including injuries. In 2018, KKR signed him up for Rs 9.40 crore but made himself unavailable due to an injury.
Nevertheless, any team would like to have him in the side for his exceptional ability to swing the ball at high speeds, combined with his skillful changes of pace.
Starc participated in his last IPL in 2015, playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after his debut season the previous year. During that season, he took an impressive 20 wickets in 13 games, boasting an average of 14.55 and an economy rate of 6.76.
Moreover, his last appearance in a T20 fixture was over a year ago during the T20 World Cup. In his illustrious career, Starc has snapped up 73 wickets in 58 matches, maintaining an impressive average of 22.91.
Pat Cummins was snapped up by SRH for a whopping Rs 20.5 crore, and with this, he broke the record of Sam Curran who was purchased for Rs 18.50 crore in the 2023 auction.
This was the first time that the 20-crore barrier was broken in the IPL auction, and this milestone was celebrated with cheers from all the auction tables as well as people present.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, the two mega franchisees, were in a fierce battle for Cummins as paddles were raised in a fraction of a second, showing their desperation to have the big fish.
MI pulled out at Rs 4.8 crore, and thereafter RCB jumped in the race. At one stage, RCB looked to be walking away with the bid, but SRH joined as CSK pulled the plug, with the bid looking to go in favour of RCB.
The bid crossed the Rs 12 crore mark, and reached Rs 20 crore as expected ahead of the auction, indicating a lot of interest from multiple teams for the successful captain who lifted the 2023 ODI World Cup by beating India in the final.
The Australia pacer previously played for DC and KKR. In the 2020 auction, KKR signed Cummins for a then-record sum of Rs 15.5 crore. He was released and bought back by KKR two seasons later for nearly Rs 7.25 crore.
Apart from captaining Australia for a World Cup win, Cummins had successfully led his side to the World Test Championship title win in June, followed it up by retaining the Ashes in England.
Cummins also holds the joint second-fastest fifty in IPL against Mumbai Indians in 2022. He had notched up the milestone in 14 balls. In 42 IPL matches, he has picked up 45 wickets at an economy rate of 8.54 and scored 359 runs.
SRH began the auction with Rs 34 crore in the bank but after signing Cummins, Travis Head and Wanindu Hasaranga, it was left with just Rs 5.2 crore.
Cummins joins teammate, and one of the best international batsmen in recent times – Travis Head at SRH. Head was bought for Rs 6.8 crore earlier in the auction.
SRH wanted Head to strengthen their top order. Franchise owners were ready to splurge on Head who had a fantastic time at the ODI World Cup earlier this year, which included a 120-ball 137 in the final against India. He scored 329 runs in six innings in the tournament at 54.83.
“We wanted Travis Head really, we wanted an opener who is a left-hander. He can bowl a bit of spin as well. Never thought we would get him for that price, because his performance has been tremendous in recent times. We expected a tough fight for him. In the end, we got him. Knew they (CSK) had Devon Conway so we just kept our breath,” Muttiah Muralitharan said after snapping up Head.
Head went unsold in the last auction where he was listed at a similar base price of Rs 2 crore. He has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016 and 2017. UNI BDN
New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell was the second expensive player to have been sold to CSK for Rs 14 crore followed by Harshal Patel bought for Rs 11.75 crore by Punjab Kings.
Rovman Powell of West Indies was purchased by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 7.40 crore after the franchise faced stiff competition from KKR, but RR had the last laugh.
The 30-year West Indian had a base price of Rs 1 crore. Earlier he had represented KKR and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. He had a strong T20 series against England, scoring a fifty in the second match.
India’s Shardul Thakur was sold to CSK for Rs 4 crore, and Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan was bought by Gujarat Titans for 50 lakhs.
MI made their first buy of the auction by bagging South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee for 5 crore, and Punjab Kings bought England’s Chris Woakes for 4.2 crore.
Delhi Capitals bagged Harry Brook for Rs 4 crore. The English batsman generated huge interest starting with a base price of Rs 2 crore. RR and DC were in hot pursuit for the star batsman. SRH had bought him for Rs 13.25 crore in the last auction.
Wanindu Hasaranga was bought by SRH for 1.5 crore after the franchise had to face flak for their decision to release some of the talents back into the auction pool.
Having notched up Head, SRH has added Hasaranga without any competition. A superb addition as he adds depth to the batting along with his bowling-like Head.
CSK made their first buy of the auction by netting Rachin Ravindra for Rs 1.8 crore, and it wasn’t a surprise as the franchise from the very first season has been interested in him.
Apart from Stephen Fleming, Rachin’s childhood coach is the head coach of Super Kings Academy, and he will be super thrilled.
Tristan Stubbs of South Africa was sold to DC for his base price of Rs 50 lakhs and India’s KS Bharat went to KKR for his base price of Rs 50 lakh.
In the fast bowling set, the West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph went to RCB for Rs 11.50 crore, outbidding Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to get the veteran T20 star.
Joseph, former Gujarat Titans, generated huge interest from DC and CSK, and then LSG jumped into the fray and the bid reached Rs 6 crore. Ultimately RCB had the last laugh.
Umesh Yadav, India’s veteran star bowler, was bought by GT for Rs 5.80 crore after SRH and DC showed keen interest in him. He will be an asset for GT who already have the services of Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma.
Former GT player Shivam Mavi generated a huge bidding war between LSG and RCB, but LSG got him for Rs 6.40 crore.
Jaydev Unadkat was picked up by SRH for Rs 1.6 crore and Dilshan Madushanka for Rs 4.6 crore by MI.
