Aussies sparkle with mega deals at IPL auction
Premier League (IPL) being held in Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena. Cummins, also Australia’s cricket captain, was sold first to Sunrisers Hyderabad for a record-breaking ₹20.5 crore. But soon enough, he was pipped to the peak by mate Starc, who went to Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹24.75 crore after a mighty bidding war with Gujarat Titans.
Both comfortably beat the earlier record held by Sam Curran, who picked up by Punjab Kings for ₹18.5 crore in 2022. At the auction, 333 cricketers went under the hammer (including 214 Indians), to fill a maximum of 77 slots. Gujarat Titans had the highest player purse with ₹38.15 crore; Lucknow Super Giants had the lowest at ₹13.15 crore.
The highest reserve price (minimum bid allowed) for a player was ₹2 crore. More big money bids were sealed through the day. Mumbai Indians took Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans for ₹15 crore.
Pandya, who captained Gujarat for the past two seasons and will now lead MI, will be replaced by Shubhman Gill at the helm of Gujarat Titans. To bring Pandya back, MI released Cameron Green to Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹17.5 crore. Other big bids sealed were for New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell for ₹14 crore by Chennai Super Kings, Harshal Patel ( ₹11.75 crore by Punjab Kings); West Indian fast bowler Alzarri Joseph ( ₹11.5 crore, Royal Challengers Bangalore), Aussie star opening batsman Travis Head ( ₹6.8 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad); and Indian fast bowlers Shivam Mavi ( ₹6.4 crore, Lucknow Super Giants) and Umesh Yadav ( ₹5.8 crore, Gujarat Titans).
During the auctions, the price at which the player is bought is considered their salary for one year. So, if a player is bought for ₹7 crore for four years, he will get ₹28 crore over that time. Tax is also
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