Australians sell for record-breaking sums in IPL auction

A forgotten man of the IPL has eclipsed his Aussie skipper in a staggering auction that left a superstar on the scrap heap.

World Cup champions Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been sold for record sums in Tuesday’s Indian Premier League Auction, collectively earning $8 million to participate in the glamorous T20 tournament.

Starc, who hasn’t made an IPL appearance since 2015, was snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for AU$4.42 million, the highest price in the competition’s history, following an intense bidding war with the Gujurat Titans.

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Cummins, who led Australia to a sixth World Cup triumph and maiden World Test Championship title this year, was sold to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for $3.67 million.

The previous highest bid in IPL history was England all-rounder Sam Curran, who was signed by the Punjab Kings for $3.3 million (18.5 crore) in last year’s Auction.

Earlier, World Cup hero Travis Head was picked up the Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.22 million in the Indian Premier League Auction.

Pat Cummins (centre right) and Travis Head (right) have every reason to smile, joining David Warner (far left) in the next season of the IPL. (AAP Image/Sam Wundke)

Following a bidding war between Hyderabad and the Chennai Super Kings in Dubai, the Sunrisers secured the services of the South Australian.

Meanwhile, Australian superstar Steve Smith went unsold.

There are 21 Australians in the annual mini-auction (different to the mega-auction held every three years) which can turn cricketers into overnight multi-millionaires.

Cummins was subjected to a hotly contested bidding war, but will suit up for the Hyderabad Sunrisers in the 2024 IPL, going for a massive price of $3,669,500 AUD, breaking the record for an IPL auction price.

The battle for his services took over 10 minutes, with both Bangalore and Chennai very much involved in the drawn out bidding process.

Earlier, Wanindu Hasaranga was the first all-rounder up for grabs, with the Sri Lankan joining Head at the Sunrisers.

Kiwi star Rachin Ravindra, who also made waves at the World Cup with his performances, appears to have caught the eyes of bidders, joining Chennai Super King for $322,200.

Steve Smith failed to earn a single bid in the auction. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori helped ensure Head became an Indian Premier League millionaire with the Aussie World Cup hero also part of a bidding war at the mini-auction in Dubai.

But there was no love for Smith, with the former Aussie captain going unsold and failing to garner a single bid despite his contribution to this year’s World Cup victory.

Head exploded into major IPL relevance on the back of an outstanding World Cup in which he returned from a broken hand to blitz New Zealand in Dharamsala before producing player of the match earning performances in the semi-final win over South Africa and the final over India in which his century hauled Australia to its sixth world title.

Go woke, get unbelievably bloody rich at the IPL

— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) December 19, 2023

Capped batters were the first group of players to go under the auction, with big three Australian quicks Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood made to wait.

West Indian batter Rovman Powell was the first player to go under the hammer, sold to the Rajasthan Royals for $1.324m, while Ricky Ponting’s Delhi Capitals purchased Harry Brook for $716,000.

South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw was passed in, as were Indians Karun Nair and Manish Pandey.

Despite having Vettori, Ponting and former Australian coach Justin Langer, now coach of the Lucknow Super Giants all in positions of influence, Smith did not attract a single bid, as occurred when he was up for grabs two years ago.

- with NCA Newswire

Originally published as Australians sell for record-breaking sums in IPL auction