Australia pace duo Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were the big winners in today’s IPL auction.
Starc was sold to the Kolkata Knight Riders for £2.3million – a record amount in the history of the IPL – shortly after Cummins went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for £1.9m.
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KKR chief executive Venky Mysore said: “Very quickly history changed. IPL has changed and the salary cap has changed. Everyone comes with their own plans. This is my 14th auction – you win some and lose some.
“Starc was a proffered player from that skillset standpoint. We were not successful in some bids so that favoured us. We were just happy to have him in our side.”
We won, Mr. Starc! 💜 PIC.TWITTER.COM/TWJ3VMCPDL
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) DECEMBER 19, 2023
Australia skipper Cummins was delighted to have made the move to the Sunrisers, capping a wonderful couple of months after he led his country to the World Cup crown in India.
“Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season,” he said.
“I’ve heard a lot about the Orange Army, I’ve played at Hyderabad a few times and always loved it, so can’t wait to get started. Great to see another Aussie in Travis Head over there as well. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this season, and hopefully plenty of success.”
Several other players who starred at the World Cup were also handed lucrative deals.
New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell went to the Chennai Super Kings for £1.3m as did his Black Caps team-mate Rachin Ravindra for £170,000.
The Mumbai Indians, who were initially in for Starc, instead turned their attentions to signing South Africa all-rounder Gerald Coetzee for £473,000 and Sri Lanka left-armer Dilshan Madushanka for £435,000.
