Mitchell Starc cops $2.3m pay cut as records obliterated at IPL Auction

An Aussie cricketer has emerged as a big winner of the IPL auction as another Australian copped a pay cut and records tumbled.

The IPL mega auction has had major money already splashed with the record for the most expensive player in the competition’s history broken twice in the opening six players.

In a two-day auction featuring 577 players from across the world, the big money has already been spent in the opening bids of the first day on a marquee set of players.

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Indian quick Arshdeep Singh went for 18 crore ($A3.28), South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada went for 10.75 crore ($A1.95m) and England’s Jos Buttler saw bidding hit 15.75 crore ($A2.87m).

But it was Indian batter Shreyas Iyer who made waves, smashing the previous record bid held by Australia’s Mitchell Starc at last years’ IPL.

Iyer went for 26.75 crore ($A4.87m), surpassing Starc’s 2024 pay packet of 24.75 crore (which was $A4.43m at the time) with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the team he helped win the title.

Starc hugs Iyer after taking a wicket last season. Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP

But Starc wasn’t retained by his franchise and will now play for the Delhi Capitals after he was snapped up for a relative bargain price of 11.75 crore ($A2.14m).

It’s a massive pay cut of $A2.29m but still nothing to sneeze at for the Aussie quick.

Josh Hazlewood has emerged as the big winner from an Australian perspective. The Aussie quick was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for 12.50 crore (A$2.27 million), a touch more than Starc.

Hazlewood missed last year’s IPL as he and wife welcomed the birth of their first child, but the 33-year-old is set to cash in big time after being recognised as one of the world’s best bowlers across all formats.

Josh Hazlewood was picked up for more than $2 million in the IPL auction. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP)

And it wasn’t over as Rishabh Pant, widely considered to be the first player who’d go for $A5m in the competition’s history fell just short but still broke the record at 27 crore ($A4.92m).

Pant will head to the Lucknow Super Giants after he was not retained by the Delhi Capitals after last years’ tournament.

Although the Capitals still had a right to match, Lucknow’s final bid of the record 27 crore was too rich for Delhi’s blood.

Rishabh Pant has broken the record. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

It was an action packed start to the auction with over $A20 million going to the first six players to go under the hammer.

The money kept flowing as well with India’s Yuzvendra Chahal going for 18 crore ($A3.28m), KL Rahul for 14 crore ($A2.55m), Mohammad Siraj for 12.25 crore ($A2.23m) and Mohammed Shami for 10 crore ($A1.8m) all raking in big deals.

Starc was just the first of 37 Aussies to go under the hammer.

Marcus Stoinis was sold to the Punjab Kings for 11 crore ($A2 million), and Jake Fraser-McGurk was sold to the Delhi Capitals for 9 crore (A$1.64 million).

Ricky Ponting is coaching the Punjab Kings, who snagged Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell (A$765,000) — arguably a bargain price for Maxwell.

Aussie fast bowler Spencer Johnson is yet to be sold after picking up a monster payday in last year’s auction, while David Warner is another player who will hope to be sold in the second day of the auction.

Aussies in the IPL Auction

Sold

Josh Hazlewood — 12.50 crore (A$2.27 million) — Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Mitchell Starc — 11.75 crore ($A2.14 million) — Delhi Capitals

Marcus Stoinis — 11 crore (A$2 million) — Punjab Kings

Jake Fraser-McGurk — 9 crore (A$1.64 million) — Delhi Capitals

Mitchell Marsh — 3.4 crore (A$619,599) — Lucknow Super Kings

Glenn Maxwell — 4.2 crore (A$765,387) — Punjab Kings

Adam Zampa — 2.4 crore (A$436,000) — Sunrisers Hyderabad

Josh Inglis — 2.6 crore (A$474,000) — Punjab Super Kings

Australians retained by IPL teams

Pat Cummins — 18 crore (A$3.28 million) — Sunrisers Hyderabad

Travis Head — 14 crore (A$2.55 million) — Sunrisers Hyderabad

Unsold

David Warner, Alex Carey

Still to be sold

2 crore ($A364,000) base price — Sean Abbott, Tim David, Spencer Johnson, Steve Smith,

1.5 crore ($A273,000) — Jason Behrendorff, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Daniel Sams

1.25 crore ($A227,500) — Ashton Agar, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Lance Morris

1 crore ($A182,000) — Chris Green, Ashton Turner

75 lakhs ($A136,500) — Xavier Bartlett, Hilton Cartwright, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Will Sutherland, Andrew Tye

30 lakhs ($A54,600) — Josh Brown, Ollie Davies

Originally published as Mitchell Starc cops $2.3m pay cut as records obliterated at IPL Auction