IPL 2024 Player Auction: Mitchell Starc, the Australian fast bowler, has set a new record as the most expensive player in an IPL auction, securing a staggering deal of INR 24.75 crore (approximately US$2,982,000) with Kolkata Knight Riders. This surpasses the earlier winning bid of INR 20.50 crore (approximately US$2,470,000) made by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Pat Cummins, Australia’s ODI World Cup-winning captain, just hours before at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai.
Starc entered the bidding fray in the fourth set of the day, specifically dedicated to fast bowlers. Initially contested between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, the battle swiftly shifted to involve Gujarat Titans and KKR. Ultimately, Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious with the highest bid.
The last time Starc featured in an IPL auction was in 2018, where KKR had signed him for INR 9.4 crore. However, he didn’t play that season due to injury, and he has been absent from the IPL since 2015.
IPL 2024 Player Auction: Mitchell Starc leaves Pat Cummins behind to become costliest buy in IPL history
Prior to Starc’s record-breaking bid, Sunrisers Hyderabad had already spent INR 20.50 crore to secure Cummins, successfully fending off competition from Royal Challengers Bangalore. Cummins’ price surpassed the previous record of INR 18.50 crore paid for England all-rounder Sam Curran at the 2023 IPL auction. Cummins had opted out of the 2023 IPL to focus on international cricket, and his previous auction price was INR 15.50 crore when KKR signed him in 2020.
Expressing his excitement after being sold, Cummins said, “Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season. I’ve heard a lot about the Orange Army, I’ve played at Hyderabad a few times and always loved it, so can’t wait to get started. Great to see another Aussie in Trav Head over there as well. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this season, and hopefully plenty of success.”
Sunrisers head coach Daniel Vettori explained that their ability to spend significantly on Cummins was due to having most bases covered in their team. “Because our team is relatively settled, and we have the budget, and we have already picked up Travis Head and [Wanindu] Hasaranga, we felt like we’d covered most things that we wanted at the auction, so we had the ability to spend that much,” Vettori stated.
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