Pat Cummins was the first to breach the Rs 20-crore mark at an Indian Premier League (IPL) auction on Tuesday but was soon overtaken by his pace-mate Mitchell Starc, making a comeback to the league after eight years, who was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record Rs 24.75 crore, the most expensive buy since the tournament began in 2008.
What started as a battle between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians soon turned into a marathon bidding war involving two franchises holding purses of more than Rs 30 crore at the IPL 2024 mini-auction held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
KKR and Gujarat Titans were late entrants in the tussle to win Starc, the former entering the fray at Rs 9.80 crore. Around an hour-and-a-half earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad, which too had a substantial purse, had bought Cummins, Australia’s World Cup-winning captain, for Rs 20.50 crore.
The Aussie pace duo capped their golden years and celebrated their cricket World Cup triumph by comfortably clearing Sam Curran’s Rs 18.50 crore payout by Punjab Kings last year.
Knight Riders couldn’t afford to miss Starc after having not joined the race to include Cummins. Their resources in fast bowling were thin, having released all their frontline pacers, including Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee and Shardul Thakur. They let go Cummins too before the start of IPL 2023 once he decided to skip the tournament and focus on his national commitments.
The Titans, having raised the paddle first at Rs 10 crore, weren’t willing to sacrifice an inch as the bidding war intensified. The other franchise owners, including Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani, enjoyed the passionate fight involving the two franchises amid sighs and applause from the audience at the venue.
While Knight Riders chief executive Venky Mysore and mentor Gautam Gambhir seemed hell-bent on taking it to the extreme, Titans’ head coach Ashish Nehra wasn’t willing to lose out on the mind games. Mysore did seek time for deliberations with the franchise’s members once the bid crossed the Rs 22-crore mark but soon got back into the thick of things.
The Titans finally relented following a discussion at their table while Mysore and Gambhir exchanged high fives besides grinning from ear to ear.
The last time Starc featured in an IPL auction was in 2018 when Knight Riders had signed him for Rs 9.4 crore. He wasn’t available that season though, because of a leg injury; he hasn’t played the IPL since turning out for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015. He has a tally of 34 IPL wickets from 27 games across the 2014 and 2015 seasons at an economy of 7.17.
The last six months have seen a renaissance in Cummins’s career besides facilitating a golden period in Australian cricket’s fortunes. The Australian captain won the World Test Championship defeating India at The Oval in London before clinching the coveted ODI World Cup in India. In between there has also been the Ashes, which they retained in England.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians also showed their interest in Cummins but in the end, the race came down to Sunrisers and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Perhaps the paucity of funds led to RCB’s withdrawal.
“Pumped to be joining Sunrisers for the upcoming IPL season,” Cummins said in a video message. “I’ve heard a lot about the Orange Army, I’ve played at Hyderabad a few times and always loved it, so can’t wait to get started. Great to see another Aussie in Trav (Travis) Head over there as well. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this season, and hopefully plenty of success.”
Starc too couldn’t hide his happiness. “It’s obviously humbling,” Starc said. “It’s our shout for dinner and drinks” when the Australia Test squad members assemble in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
Cummins and Starc have operated in tandem to set up many famous victories for Australia. Now they have got together to chart a new path in franchise cricket.
