Hazlewood leads Aussies in IPL $1m deals

Josh Hazlewood was the big Australian winner on the first day of the Indian Premier League auction as he landed a $A1.44m deal to join Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The paceman was one of four Australian internationals to earn million-dollar deals on the first day of the auction in Bengalruru on Saturday, with national team captain Pat Cummins, Mitch Marsh and David Warner also in the seven-figure club.

Marsh and Warner, who previously played together at Sunrisers Hyderabad, will team up at the Ricky Ponting-coached Delhi Capitals, while Cummins has again been snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders.

But the big surprise was that Steve Smith went unsold. The former Test skipper, Matthew Wade and Adam Zampa all failed to attract a single bid at their opening price of $A372,000.

They could, however, still be picked up by one of the 10 teams when the auction resumes on Sunday.

Hazlewood hit the jackpot with his price tag being nearly four times as much as he scooped for Chennai last year, with five teams battling over his signature.

The paceman will join Glenn Maxwell at RCB, who was retained by the franchise last December.

Cummins didn't have to wait long for a hefty payday as the third lot of the event but his price represented somewhat of a bargain for the Knight Riders, who'd paid around $A3.1 million for him at the 2020 IPL auction.

Cummins played seven games for KKR in the 2021 IPL, taking nine wickets and scoring 93 runs. He did not return for the second portion of the season after the COVID-19 postponement.

"We thought he (Cummins) would go higher, so very, very delighted with that," said Venky Mysore, KKR's managing director.

Cummins will be joined at the Knight Riders by talented India top-order