The IPL mini auctions were held in Dubai today amid questions of whether the INR 20 crore mark for any
player could be crossed today. As it turned out, both Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc dashed past that.
Australian captain Cummins, who has had an immensely fulfilling year, topped it off by fetching a price
of INR 20.50 crore with Sunrisers Hyderabad snapping up the fast bowler. His teammate and fellow
Australian pace stalwart Mitchell Starc surpassed the mark as he got signed for a whooping ₹24.75 crore
by KKR. This marks his first season with IPL in eight years and the sum was the highest amount this year
for any player.
There was also an intense bidding war for Daryl Mitchell, who was eventually bought by CSK for INR 14
crore. Harshal Patel was acquired by PBKS for INR 11.75 crore. Alzarri Joseph was bought by RCB for INR
11.50 crore. Cummins and Starc's teammate and Australia's World Cup final hero Travis Head was also
bought by SRH for INR 6.80 crore.
Today's event in Dubai may not have been a grand spectacle of the two-day behemoth that the IPL
mega auction is, but it was nonetheless a starry affair. The list featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins,
Travis Head, Rachin Ravindra, and more promises to deliver big doses of excitement.
Rishabh Pant will be returning to Delhi Capitals once again having overcome the serious injuries that he
had sustained in an accident on the Delhi – Roorkee highway.
The 10 franchises have an impressive purse of INR 262.95 crore. Gujarat Titans have the most capacity
of this – INR 38.15 crore, followed by INR 34 crore for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kolkata Knight Riders
and Chennai Super Kings are the other two franchises with a bag of over INR 30 crore to splurge. Delhi
Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Punjab Kings have INR 28.95 crore, INR 23.25 crore and INR
29.1 crore respectively to create their squad of players. Mumbai Indians (INR 17.75 crore), Lucknow
Super Giants (INR 13.15 crore), and Rajasthan Royals (INR 14.5 crore) have the smallest budgets
compared to their competitors.
There are a total of 77 slots available for the franchises to fill out of 213 Indians and 116 foreigners. The
format is quite simple. Players are categorised into sets based on their skills and will be up on offer as
and when their names are withdrawn from the bag.
FIRST FEMALE AUCTIONEER IN HISTORY OF IPL
Mallika Sagar, who recently conducted the WPL auction has taken over from Hugh Edmeades to become
the first female auctioneer in the 16-year-long history of IPL.
VARIOUS PRICE BRACKETS FOR PLAYERS
There are a few price brackets. The highest price category is INR 2 crore, for which 23 players have
registered for, including Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, and Umesh Yadav. Then there is the INR 1 crore
bracket, INR 75 lakh bracket, INR 50 lakh, INR 20 lakh and so on.
While the presence of some players has risen the stocks for the IPL 2024 auction, there are some
notable absentees too, the most prolific being England’s Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, along with Shakib
Al Hasan and Joe Root.
All the same, the scale of this gala event is such that none of it can take any sheen away from what lies
in store. The auction is just the kind of precursor fans needed as the 2024 edition of the IPL promises to
be bigger. In a development that has already caused a huge stir, Hardik Pandya will captain Mumbai
Indians for the first time in an IPL season which also happens to be MS Dhoni's swansong. The return of
two young India captains to the fore, Shreyas Iyer and Pant, and the homecoming of Gautam Gambhir to
KKR as mentor has already made heads turn, and we haven't even entered the new year yet.
Although an official date hasn't been announced yet, the IPL 2024 is believed to kick off from March 22.
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