IPL Auction 2024: The Indian Premier League auction saw another historical feat when Mitchell Starc was picked at a massive sum of 24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai. Australian World Cup-winning stars were in big demand at the auction. Pat Cummins became the most expensive player in IPL history when he was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 20.5 crore. A little later his compatriot Starc broke that record and became the highest-paid player in the tournament’s history. Starc was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for a huge sum of INR 24.75 crore.
Four teams went for the Aussie left-arm pacer. Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders went behind Starc. Delhi and Mumbai were the first two teams to begin the bidding war for Starc before they pulled back before the 10 crore mark. In came Kolkata and then Gujarat, the two teams then kept lifting their paddles one after the other. Everyone in the auction arena clapped when Starc went beyond the mark of 20 crore. But Riders and the Titans looked were so berserk for Starc that they kept bidding for the multiple-time ODI World Cup star.
Starc was nearing the 25-crore and Riders were finally able to get the big fish they wanted so desperately. Starc last played in the IPL in 2015 for RCB, who did not go behind him for even a single time. Starc was earlier part of KKR setup too in the 2018 IPL. He did not play a single match back then as he was injured. KKR also picked KS Bharat and Chetan Sakariya at the bidding war. Both the players were signed at INR 50 lakh each.
KKR’s updated squad: Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer (c), Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat (Rs. 50 lakh), Chetan Sakariya (Rs. 50 lakh), Mitchell Starc (Rs. 24.75 crore).
