In a history-making move, Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping Rs 24.75 crores just hours after his skipper Pat Cummins had breached the Rs 20 crore mark after being brought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), to become the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
Sam Curran, an all-around player for England, was previously the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having cost Punjab Kings (PBKS) INR 18.50 crore for him at the previous year’s auction, as per Olympics.com.
At the IPL 2024 auction, 332 players from 13 different countries were up for bid. Of these, Indians made up 216. Following player retention, releases, and trades, the 10 clubs united in the IPL 2024 auction had a maximum of 77 spots available, including 30 overseas player quotas.
However, only KKR (23) and RR (22) decided not to pursue their entire quota of 25 players, meaning that 72 players were selected throughout the bidding process. All thirty international player places, however, were filled.
In addition to Starc and Cummins being the ones who started the 20 crore club in the IPL, other players who commanded premiums of 10 crore or more at the IPL 2024 auction were New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell (Rs 14.00 cr to CSK), Indian pacer Harshal Patel (Rs 11.75 cr to PBKS), West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph (Rs 11.50 cr to RCB), and Australian pacer Spencer Johnson (Rs 10 cr to GT).-TIN Bureau