Mitchell Starc, an Australian pacer, rose to become the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. At the auction in Dubai on Tuesday, Kolkata Knight Riders paid Rs 24.75 crore to purchase him. Pat Cummins, the captain of Starc, has now moved on. Previously, he was the most expensive player in IPL history, having been sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore.
The pacer set off an absurd bidding war that pitted the Delhi Capitals (DC) against the Mumbai Indians (MI) for several minutes. Following their withdrawal, the Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) engaged in an even more intense bidding battle, surpassing the Rs 20.50 crore that SRH had previously paid for Cummins. In the end, GT withdrew at a cost of Rs 24.75 crore, and KKR won Starc for an unprecedented sum.
“The recently created record is BROKEN! The official X (Twitter) account for the IPL tweeted, “Pat Cummins, the most expensive player of all time, is SOLD to #KKR for INR 24.75 Crore #IPLAuction | #IPL.”
After not playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2015, Starc made a long-awaited comeback to the auction. In 58 Twenty20 Internationals, he has claimed 73 wickets and has won multiple World Championships with Australia in all formats. Among the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era, he has taken 647 wickets in 262 matches for his country.
In 27 IPL games during the 2014–15 season, Starc claimed 34 wickets while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Earlier, on Tuesday at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, Cummins broke records by becoming the most expensive player in Indian Premier League history when he was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.50 crore.
Mumbai Indians became interested in Cummins and joined the bidding war for the first time, with a base price of Rs 2 crore. MI backed while Royal Challengers Bangalore entered the bidding war against CSK as the price went up. As it appeared that RCB would win the players, SRH entered the fray, and the ensuing moments saw a high-bidding war break out.
The whole stadium erupted in cheers as he crossed the 20 crore threshold. After RCB gave up, SRH paid Rs 20.50 crore to sign the Australian captain, who had won the World Cup, making Cummins the most expensive player in IPL history. Sam Curran previously held the record with an estimated cost of Rs 18.50 crore. In 2022, he was traded to Punjab Kings.
