Dubai, (Asian independent) Australian pacers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Spencer Johnson attracted massive bids as did Indian uncapped player Sameer Rizvi as the top 10 buys went for nearly 50 percent of the total INR 230.43 crore spent in the Mini-Auction ahead of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League held here on Tuesday. In all, 72 players were sold in the auction, 30 overseas, as six of the 10 franchises completed their full quota of 25 players.
The Kolkata Knight Riders bought Starc for a record INR 24.75 crore, the highest price garnered by any player in the history of IPL auctions while Pat Cummins was close behind with a massive winning bid of 20.50 crore at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell was the next costliest buy of this mini auction with defending champions Chennai Super Kings splurging Rs 14 crore for him.
Harshal Patel turned out to be the costliest Indian buy on Tuesday with Punjab Kings breaking the bank to claim his services at Rs 11.75 crore while West Indies pacer Alzari Joseph made it to the top five when Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him for Rs 11.50 crore.
Australia’s little-known uncapped pacer Spencer Johnson had his time in the limelight when Gujarat Titans bought him for a whopping Rs 10 crore. In all, six players received bids above Rs 10 crore in the auction and all but one of them were overseas players.
Interestingly, the top five buys in this auction, except Daryl Mitchell are all pacer-bowling allrounder, which indicates that the franchise are bolstering their pace bowling as they expect the IPL to be played abroad considering the clash with general elections in India next year.
Sameer Rizvi, a young batter from Uttar Pradesh, became the instant crorepati that the IPL is known to throw up every year when he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 8.40 crore. Starting from a base price of Rs 20 Lakh, Rizvi Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans engaged in a spirited back-and-forth, propelling the bid to a remarkable 8.40 crore. In the end, CSK emerged victorious, securing the promising youngster for a hefty sum.
The young Uttar Pradesh batter has been making waves in the domestic circuit of late due to his batting exploits. In the UP T20 League, Rizvi scored 455 runs in nine innings for Kanpur Superstars, including hitting two incredible centuries and the most sixes by any batter in the competition.
Starc became the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history as he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a record-breaking Rs 24.75 crore in the third round of the auction.
The left-arm pacer from Australia is returning to the IPL after eight years and attracted huge attention. The auction room buzzed with excitement as the bidding war escalated, and the price tag soared over Rs. 7.00 crore in the blink of an eye.
The Mumbai Indians seized control of the bidding frenzy, establishing a clear lead at Rs. 9.60 Cr. Just when it seemed like they were in the driver’s seat, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a dramatic entry into the fray, throwing their hat into the ring with a bid of Rs. 9.80 Cr. The Gujarat Titans, not to be left behind, entered the intense competition after the bid crossed the Rs. 10.00 Cr mark.
The Kolkata Knight Riders, displaying unwavering determination, made a bold move, holding their ground at Rs. 18.75 Cr. However, the Gujarat Titans responded with an audacious bid of Rs. 20.50 Cr, breaking new ground and setting the stage for the player to potentially become the league’s priciest asset.
A few minutes before, Mitchell Marsh’s World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins set a record for the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League as Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for Rs 20.50 crore.
After an intense bidding war with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad claimed the Australian skipper for a record-breaking bid.
Cummins, who started with a base price of Rs. 2.00 Cr went for a bidding war between two IPL giants Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians and the bid quickly rose to 4.8 crore with CSK. Royal Challengers Bangalore joined the bidding war at Rs. 5.00 Cr.
Sunrisers Hyderabad also decided to put in a bid at Rs. 8.00 Cr as Cummins became the first millionaire of the day. The bidding war got intense between SRH and RCB as both took the bidding war to Rs. 12.00 Cr.
The bids got more intense as it crossed the 15-crore mark and SRH decided to raise it to 17 crore. The Rs 18.5 crore mark crossed as Cummins became the most expensive player in the history of IPL, breaking the record of Sam Curran, who was sold for Rs 18.50 crore in the 2023 auction.
However, the bidding war continued as RCB raised it to Rs 19.25 Cr before SRH took it to Rs. 20 Cr for the first time in the auction’ history. They have to raise it to Rs. 20.50 Cr to finally get Cummins.
Mitchell became the third costliest player of the auction day getting past Harshal Patel after he was bought by Punjab Kings for cracking Rs 11.75 Cr.
In a dramatic turn of events during the IPL auction, Delhi entered the bidding for Mitchell at 1 crore, sparking fierce competition with Punjab Kings. The bidding escalated rapidly, with Punjab breaching the 3 crore mark. Mitchell, who had previously been a part of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, found himself as the focus of the intense battle as the price crossed the Rs 10 crore mark and ended at Rs 14 crore eventually.
