Aussies Score Mega Deals After Breaking Records as IPL’s Most Expensive Bids Ever

World Cup winners Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc set new records at the 2024 Indian Premier League auction in Dubai last month. Australia’s captain and skipper Cummins capped off a triumphant year on December 19 when he became the highest-paid player in IPL’s history, only to be overtaken by fellow teammate Starc within an hour. 

Many Australian cricketers will be returning for the IPL in India, where they won the World Cup just last November. The matches will be hosted across various Indian cities from April 1 to June 2 this year.

Setting Historic Records

Kolkata Knight Riders paid a whopping A$4.43m for left-armer Starc, outlasting Gujarat Titans and surpassing the A$3.67m dished out by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Cummins earlier in the auction. 

Starc will be playing for Knight Riders after eight long years as Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals were compelled to drop out of the bidding war once his amount passed the A$1.79m mark despite them being the first two teams to start pitching for veteran paceman this time around. Cummins, on the other hand, was secured by Sunrisers, who successfully edged out Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Chennai Super Kings in a four-way contest. 

Both Starc and Cummins’ bids eclipse the A$3.15m paid by Mumbai Indians to secure allrounder Cameron Green in the previous season, which had set the standard for Australian players even before their most recent victory in the 2023 World Cup. Royal Challengers attempted to nab Cummins as well but failed to match the figure after Sunrisers raised their bid to a record level.

Sunrisers also snapped up World Cup final hero and explosive left-hander Travis Head for A$1.22m. Even though Cummins’ monster payday stole all the spotlight, it’s important to note that Head finally earned his way back to the IPL for the first time in six years. Both players will be seen teaming up for the 2024 IPL after Cummins sat out the league in 2023 because of a packed international schedule. They have both indicated that this year’s IPL will serve as the ideal preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which commences only days after the final IPL match.

Cummins proudly holds up the 2023 World Cup Trophy
(Image source: Rafiq Maqbool, Associated Press)

Of course, Cummins threw himself back into this last auction without anticipating such an intense bidding war. But IPL franchises were not afraid to go all-out to secure him, especially after he led Australia to a stupendous triumph against India during the World Cup in their home ground in Ahmedabad on November 19. 

Meanwhile, star batter Steve Smith was unable to attract any bids and went unsold despite his accomplishments in the IPL. Others including Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Ashton Agar, Ben Cutting, Ben Dwarshuis, Billy Stanlake, Daniel Sams, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Lance Morris, Matt Short, Riley Meredith, Sean Abbott, Wes Agar, William Salzmann were all nominated for the auction but went unsold.

The fact that Hazlewood is going to be unavailable for part of the league due to the birth of his first child is most likely the reason he wasn’t selected. However, Smith’s spot is surely secured as Australia prepares for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.

In another surprising event that night, left-arm Spencer Johnson was sold for A$1.78m to Gujarat Titans, fast bowler Jhye Richardson was sold for A$890,000 to Delhi Capitals, and fellow teammate Ashton Turner was picked up for A$178,000 by Lucknow Super Giants.

Cricketers Adam Zampa, Cameron Green, David Warner, Glen Maxwell, Jason Behrendorff, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Nathan Ellis, and Tim David were already retained by their franchises before the auction.

Starc and Cummins share a happy moment on the pitch

Image source: Bikas Das, Associated Press

Upwards of A$15,000 Per Delivery

Since the closing of the historic auction, the world has been marveling at the crazy numbers behind Starc and Cummins’ record IPL deals. With this kind of payout, they will earn more money in India delivering two balls playing franchise cricket than working hard in a baggy green for five days. Not to mention, it has been almost a decade since Starc last bowled in the IPL, having prioritized international cricket over the premier league.

However, with Knight Riders going all-out for Starc, he will be expected to appear in all of their matches this season. If he plays each of those games and Knight Riders don’t make it to the finals, Starc will still take home a stunning A$471,938 per match. Starc’s decision to focus on his international career and sit out the IPL for the past eight seasons has certainly triggered franchises who now want him on their rosters desperately.

While Starc is also a skilled lower-order batsman, he is effectively being paid the big bucks for his powerful inswingers. If he bowls the full allocation of four overs every game, he will pocket A$19,663 for every legitimate delivery that comes out of his left hand. That’s more than A$100,000 for each over in the IPL. Some cricketers might not even earn that in a whole year. For context, Starc as well as his teammates receive approximately A$22,000 as payment for test matches.

In a similar story for Cummins, he will earn about A$390,759 for each game and $16,256 for every ball he delivers. We reckon he is the one laughing over his critics as Australia’s captain, having won both the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup apart from retaining the Ashes Trophy last year.

Starc and Cummins share a laugh at net practice

(Image source: ESPN Cricinfo)

Why IPL Franchises Are Paying Big Bucks to Aussies

Despite the Aussies’ longstanding legacy and consistent achievements in cricket, the IPL’s inclination towards Australian players is still quite baffling, especially when you notice that nobody except Shane Watson and David Warner has had a telling impact on the league in the past few years. In the preceding three seasons, for example, only Glen Maxwell outdid himself. If you look closely, the big dollars spent on Australian cricketers haven’t yielded sufficient returns on investment. Yet, they are the most sought after in almost every auction. 

We reckon this proclivity isn’t without reason. Because Australia has triumphed in so many ICC tournaments, it’s assumed that their players perform better under pressure than those from other countries. This year, it only helped that the IPL auction was held within a month of them winning the 2023 World Cup title.

The other factor that could explain the IPL’s interest in certain Australian players is their brand value, considered only second to the stars of Indian cricket. Their faces have a pan-India appeal and can be marketed effectively to draw in more fans. For instance, in the context of social media appeal, Warner is next in line after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Meanwhile, Cummins and Starc are more popular in India than Jonny Bairstow or Jos Buttler. 

All 10 team captains participating in the 2024 IPL

(Image source: Mufaddal Vohra, X)

Wrapping Up

All said and done, this IPL season is not going to be easy for either Cummins or Starc. Even with their level of exposure and experience, playing with these exorbitant price tags is going to be challenging. Any and every failure on their part is going to be amplified because social media is already abuzz with the mindboggling figures that franchises have shelled out for them. 

What we can do is wait till April to find out whether this year’s record-breaking auction was a crown of thorns for the Aussies. Now more than ever, their performance is going to determine if Sunrisers’ call for Cummins and Knight Riders’ spend on Starc was a brave risk or hasty decision. 

Australians Sold at 2024 IPL Auction

Travis Head - A$1.22m to Sunrisers Hyderabad

Pat Cummins - A$3.67m to Sunrisers Hyderabad

Mitchell Starc - A$4.43m to Kolkata Knight Riders

Spencer Johnson - A$1.78 million to Gujarat Titans

Jhye Richardson - A$892,000 to Delhi Capitals

Ashton Turner - A$178,000 to Lucknow Super Giants

Australians Participating in 2024 IPL

Delhi Capitals: Mitch Marsh (A$1.2m), David Warner (A$1.16m), Jhye Richardson (A$890,000)

Gujarat Titans: Spencer Johnson (A$1.78m), Matthew Wade (A$446,000) 

Kolkata Knight Riders: Mitchell Starc (A$4.43m)

Lucknow Super Giants: Marcus Stoinis (A$1.7m), Ashton Turner (A$178,000)

Mumbai Indians: Tim David (A$1.53m), Jason Behrendorff (A$135,000)

Punjab Kings: Nathan Ellis (A$135,000) 

Rajasthan Royals: Adam Zampa (A$270,000) 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Cameron Green (A$3.15m), Glenn Maxwell (A$2m) 

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (A$3.67m), Travis Head (A$1.2m)

IPL's Most Expensive Australian Bids

Mitchell Starc: A$4.43m, Kolkata Knight Riders, 2024

Pat Cummins: A$3.67m, Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2024 

Cameron Green: A$3.15m, Mumbai Indians, 2022 

Pat Cummins: A$3.16m, Kolkata Knight Riders, 2020 

Glenn Maxwell: A$2.52m, Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2021 

Jhye Richardson: A$2.48m, Punjab Kings, 2021 

Steve Smith: A$2.3m, Rajasthan Royals, 2018 

David Warner: A$2.3m, Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2018