Australia stars Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins hit jackpot at IPL 2024 auction

Australia's World Cup winners Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins had more reasons to celebrate a spectacular 2023 as they landed record deals during the IPL 2024 player auction at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday.

Starc and Cummins helped the Aussies win the World Test Championship, retain the Ashes and also clinch the ODI World Cup title. They were expected to be among the most sought-after players, and that is exactly how it turned out.

The two Aussies took home a combined $5.45 million, shattering the previous records for the highest bid in the IPL. Cummins, the World Cup-winning captain, briefly became the most expensive player in the history of the T20 tournament before Starc was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for 247.5 million rupees ($2.98 million).

Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Cummins for 205 million rupees ($2.47 million), breaking the mark set by England’s Sam Curran ($2.35 million) who was the previous most expensive player – for Punjab Kings last year.

KKR had earlier lost out while bidding for Cummins. They also lost out to Rajasthan Royals in securing West Indies batsman Rovman Powell. So they were determined, and well-placed in terms of available funds, to go for Starc.

“We all come with plans. You win some, you lose some, and you just have to be prepared for all that. It wasn't like you came in with that mindset, but obviously he (Starc) was a preferred player from that skill set standpoint,” Venky Mysore, managing director of KKR, said.

We won, Mr. Starc!