The conversations about Mumbai Indians ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction was mostly around the change in captaincy as Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit Sharma in the position. Hardik completed a sensational move to MI from Gujarat Titans before the auction and his appointment ended the ten-year tenure of Rohit at the helm. During the auction, a fan loudly enquired about the plans of the franchise regarding Rohit and MI owner Akash Ambani came up with a brilliant reply. According to a video posted by the franchise on social media, he told the supporter – “Do not worry, he will bat, Akash Ambani responded to a fan at the IPL 2024 mini auction”.
Meanwhile, in a history-making move, Australia pacer Mitchell Starc was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a whopping Rs 24.75 crores just hours after his skipper Pat Cummins had breached the Rs 20 crore mark after being brought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), to become the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/fNWLiWpgJS
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) December 19, 2023
Sam Curran, an all-around player for England, was previously the most expensive player in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having cost Punjab Kings (PBKS) INR 18.50 crore for him at the previous year’s auction, as per Olympics.com.
At the IPL 2024 auction, 332 players from 13 different countries were up for bid. Of these, Indians made up 216. Following player retention, releases, and trades, the 10 clubs united in the IPL 2024 auction had a maximum of 77 spots available, including 30 overseas player quotas.
However, only KKR (23) and RR (22) decided not to pursue their entire quota of 25 players, meaning that 72 players were selected throughout the bidding process. All thirty international player places, however, were filled.
In addition to Starc and Cummins being the ones who started the 20 crore club in the IPL, other players who commanded premiums of 10 crore or more at the IPL 2024 auction were New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell (Rs 14.00 cr to CSK), Indian pacer Harshal Patel (Rs 11.75 cr to PBKS), West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph (Rs 11.50 cr to RCB), and pacer Spencer Johnson (Rs 10 cr to GT).
(With ANI inputs)
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