IPL 2024 Auction: Starc, Smith among biggest gainers and losers

The first day of the Indian Premier League 2024 Auction was a cracking one. While a host of cricketers made a fortune in the IPL 2024 auction, some players were surprisingly ignored by the franchises. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made history by being the only cricketers to be bought above Rs 20 crore. In this article, we take a look at the biggest gainers and losers of the IPL 2024 Auction.

Winners of IPL 2024 Auction

Mitchell Starc (KKR, Rs 24.75 crore)

Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in IPL history. Kolkata Knight Riders ultimately bought the seamer for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore. Starc hasn’t played a single IPL game in eight years. However, the interest of IPL teams when Starc’s name came up say a lot about how important he can be for any IPL side.

Pat Cummins (SRH, 20.5 crore)

Pat Cummins was the first ever player in IPL history to be sold for over Rs 20 crore. Although Cummins’ record was broken just a few hours later by his Australian teammate. SRH must have been very happy with the early piece of business to sweep up the ODI World Cup winning captain.

Daryl Mitchell (CSK, Rs 14 crore)

New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell was subject of a lot of interest from the IPL teams. After an intense bidding war between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capital, Chennai Super Kings made a late entry to the bidding table and outbid everyone to take the talented all-rounder home.

Sameer Rizvi (CSK, Rs 8.4 crore)

Several ex-cricketers backed Sameer Rizvi as the ‘right-handed Suresh Raina’. This young talent was hyped a lot before the IPL 2024 Auction. When his name came up in the auction, it was understood why. Starting from a humble Rs 50 lakh base price, his price went up rapidly as a host of team looked to secure his signature. In the end, CSK were the most determined team and landed the batter at Rs 8.4 crore.

Shubham Dubey (RR, Rs 5.8 crore)

Shubham Dubey was perhaps the surprise of the IPL 2024 Auction, fetching a huge sum of Rs 5.8 crore in the auction. The middle-order batter from Vidarbha who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh, saw an intense tug of war between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals before the latter emerged as the winner.

Losers of IPL 2024 Auction

Steve Smith (unsold)

Former Australian captain Steve Smith surprisingly went unsold after being in the IPL since 2012. The right-hand batter has played 103 matches in the tournament, scoring 2485 runs at an average of over 34. It was perhaps his strike rate of just over 128 that has been a deterring factor for IPL teams.

Wanindu Hasaranga (SRH, Rs 1.5 crore)

Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was a player that was expected to earn the big bucks in the IPL 2024 auction. However, his name saw very little competitions among IPL teams as Sunrisers Hyderabad snatched the all-rounder up for a meagre sum of Rs 1.5 crore.

Rachin Ravindra (CSK, Rs 1.8 crore)

Rachin Ravindra was another name that had a fantastic 2023. He was the fourth-highest run-scorer in World Cup 2023, with 578 runs in 10 matches. In spite of his World Cup heroics, CSK did not have much of a problem in acquiring the sought-after all-rounder.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman (KKR, Rs 2 crore)

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was one of the better spin options to go under the hammer. It was expected that the Afghanistan spinner will see a considerable amount of interest in the IPL 2024 auction. However, Rahman went unsold in the first round of the auction. He was brought in again in the accelerated round, leading to KKR buying him at base price of

Adil Rashid (unsold)

England leg break bowler Adil Rashid on Tuesday went unsold in the IPL 2024 Auction. Almost everyone expected the veteran spinner to get sold in the auction, but it was not to be as no IPL teams showed any interest.