Australian pacer Mitchell Starc becomes the most expensive player in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL) as Kolkata Knight Riders acquire the speedster for a record-breaking sum of Rs 24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 Auction.
With the opening bids starting between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians for the pacer, Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans entered the race as the bowler went past the 9-crore mark.
After another intense bidding war between the two franchise, the Kolkata-based franchise finally bagged the speedster.
With KKR's bid, Starc has dethroned compatriot Pat Cummins as the most-expensive player in the league's history. Earlier, Cummins was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore.
KKR now have Rs 6.95 crore left in their purse after breaking their banks to get the Australian pacer in their squad.
Leading Australia's pace attack for nearly ten years, Starc's left-arm pace has demonstrated success in winning matches in international cricket. While it’s been some time since he donned an IPL jersey, the Aussie star will invariably add firepower to his new team’s bowling arsenal.
In the ICC Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup, Starc scalped 10 wickets in 8 matches.
Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2014, the left-arm quick emerged as among the leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 20 scalps, impressing with both his pace and precision.
After the 2015 season, Starc took a break from IPL to manage his workload and focus on international commitments. In 2018, Starc returned to the IPL, joining Kolkata Knight Riders. However, an unfortunate injury prevented him from making any appearances for the two-time champions.
A total of 333 players are going under the hammer in Dubai during the 2024 IPL auction, of which 214 are Indians and 119 are overseas cricketers.
However, the 10 teams together have only a maximum of 77 slots open, with each team allowed a roster of a maximum of 25 players.
23 players registered their base price at the maximum of Rs 2 crore with another 13 slotting themselves in the Rs 1.5 crore base price.
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