Starc came up for bidding in the first set for fast bowlers – the fourth set of the day – and the battle for him began between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. However, it was swiftly taken over by Gujarat Titans and KKR, the only franchises with more than INR 30 crore left in their purse at that point, and KKR won the final bid.
The last time Starc featured in an IPL auction was in 2018 when KKR had signed him for INR 9.4 crore. He didn’t play that season, though, because of injury; he hasn’t played the IPL since 2015, in fact.
“It’s obviously humbling to still, I guess, feel like I’m wanted or, or needed anyway, I guess,” Starc told Jio Cinema after his bid. “So hopefully that experience that I’ve had for a few years now can translate into success in… obviously leading up to the IPL and, hopefully, add some of that to the KKR list.”
Before Starc’s record bid, Sunrisers had spent INR 20.50 crore (US$2,470,000 approx.) to sign Cummins, staving off competition from Royal Challengers Bangalore to get their man. Cummins’ price had surpassed the record of INR 18.50 crore that Punjab Kings had paid for England allrounder Sam Curran at the 2023 IPL auction. Cummins had skipped the 2023 IPL to focus on international cricket; his previous highest auction price was INR 15.50 crore, when KKR had signed him in 2020.
“Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season,” Cummins said after he was sold. “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.”
ODI World Cup performers get big paydays
Mitchell was fiercely fought for by Capitals, Punjab and Chennai Super Kings, and was finally bought for INR 14 crore by CSK after entering the auction at a base price of INR 1 crore. Ravindra was also bought by CSK for INR 1.8 crore.
CSK had also wanted to buy Head, the Player of the Match in the ODI World Cup semi-final and final, but lost him to Sunrisers, who signed him for INR 6.8 crore.
Both Coetzee (INR 5 crore) and Madushanka (INR 4.6 crore) were signed by Mumbai Indians for a total of INR 9.6 crore – these were their first two buys at the auction.
Uncapped Indians earn big bucks
Kushagra, for a while, threatened to top Rizvi’s bid, but Capitals got him for INR 7.20 crore after fighting off competition from CSK and Titans. A scrap for Shahrukh was expected, and there was one between Punjab – who had released him prior to the auction – and Titans. His price soared until it stopped at INR 7.40 crore, with Titans getting the big-hitting middle-order batter.
The surprise big buys
How did the capped Indian players fare?
Fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Shivam Mavi were also in high demand. SRH and Capitals tried to sign Umesh but Titans eventually did so for INR 5.8 crore. Mavi became LSG’s first buy at the 2024 auction, when they outbid RCB by spending nearly half their remaining purse to sign him for INR 6.4 crore.
Jaydev Unadkat, who once commanded a bid of INR 11.4 crore in the 2018 auction, was sold for INR 1.6 crore to Sunrisers.
The steal deals
Capitals managed to sign England batter Harry Brook for INR 4 crore; Brook had been signed by Sunrisers for INR 13.25 crore last year and subsequently released after an unremarkable maiden IPL season.
Who was unsold?
Australia batter Steven Smith and South Africa batter Rilee Rossouw, who had listed their base prices at INR 2 crore, and India batters Manish Pandey and Karun Nair were unsold in the first set of capped batters. There was low demand for capped wicketkeepers and spinners, with Phil Salt, Josh Inglis, Kusal Mendis, Akeal Hosein, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ish Sodhi, Adil Rashid and Tabraiz Shamsi all unsold.