"I'm thrilled to be joining the team for this year's IPL"
Mitchell Starc has become the most expensive signing in Indian Premier League history.
The IPL auction for the 2024 season is underway in Dubai, with 214 Indians and 119 overseas players registering themselves to find a team.
Ten teams had to fill 77 slots, 30 of which were for overseas cricketers.
It ended up being a dramatic event, with Mitchell Starc going to Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 24.75 crore (£2.3 million).
The Australian broke the record set earlier in the auction when Pat Cummins was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 20.5 crore (£1.9 million).
Naturally, Australia’s World Cup win was expected to put their players in demand.
Auction attendees gasped when the bidding for Cummins surpassed Rs. 20 Crore for the first time in an IPL auction.
Cummins was signed by Sunrisers after a bidding war with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Sunrisers also signed Australian batsman Travis Head for Rs. 6.8 crore (£645,000).
England’s Sam Curran had been the tournament’s most expensive player when he joined Punjab Kings for Rs. 18.5 crore (£1.85 million) in 2022.
Cummins’ record was swiftly broken by Mitchell Starc.
The 33-year-old has not played in the IPL for eight years but was signed after some intense bidding, which started between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals before being taken on by Gujarat Titans and KKR.
The expensive signings of Starc and Cummins prompted a memefest from cricket fans.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc right now. Paisa hi paisa #IPLAuction #IPL #iplauction2024 pic.twitter.com/y6l2zcAKOr
— Karachiite (@haqtales) December 19, 2023
One said: “Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc going for a whopping amount.”
https://twitter.com/Kric262/status/1737060903647080812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737060903647080812%7Ctwgr%5Eeebbdae382c3d4d14fc93b40b711bf7340be27ff%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dnaindia.com%2Fcricket%2Freport-social-media-meme-as-mitchell-starc-becomes-most-expensive-player-rs-2475-crore-ipl-2024-auction-live-3072068
On joining KKR, Mitchell Starc said:
“Hey KKR fans, I’m thrilled to be joining the team for this year’s IPL and I can’t wait to get to Eden Gardens to experience the home fans, the home crowd and the atmosphere.
“Look forward to seeing you then.”
Elsewhere, England bowler Chris Woakes was sold to Punjab Kings for Rs. 4.2 crore (£400,000) while his teammate Harry Brook went to Delhi Capitals for £380,000.
New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell was signed by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 14 crore (£1.3 million).
Chennai Super Kings also signed Rachin Ravindra.
Ravindra went for Rs. 1.8 crore (£170,000) after his breakout performance at the ICC World Cup.
Royal Challengers Bangalore spent Rs. 11.5 crore (£1.1 million) on West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph.
Rovman Powell went to Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 7.4 crore (£702,000).
Mumbai Indians signed South Africa bowler Gerald Coetzee and Sri Lanka left-armer Dilshan Madushanka for Rs. 5 crore (£473,000) and Rs. 4.6 crore (£435,000) respectively.
Punjab signed Indian bowler Harshal Patel for Rs. 11.75 crore (£1.1 million).
Australia’s Steve Smith and India’s Manish Pandey are currently unsold but they could still be picked up later in the auction.
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