Pacers pack a punch at the IPL 2024 Auction

IPL auction sees record-breaking bids for Mitchell Starc & Pat Cummins; pacers fetch high prices due to low supply & high purse.

A cricketer’s worth is not necessarily determined by his value at an Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. But when it comes to the annual player auction, it is the players with the high price tags that steal the headlines.

Tuesday was no different in Dubai when two Australian pacers — Mitchell Starc (₹24.75 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders) and Pat Cummins (₹20.50 crore, Sunrisers Hyderabad) — earned the highest bids ever in the history of the IPL auction.

Not too many who occupied the 10 tables at the sprawling Coca Cola Arena were surprised with the prices that hit through the roofs. Kumar Sangakkara, the Rajasthan Royals director of cricket and head coach, was among them.

“We knew it would get breached but not by us,” Sangakkara said when asked whether he anticipated the 20 crore mark to be breached.

“Mini auctions are notorious for that. A high purse and a low supply of players can go for that. It can happen and it did happen.”

The amount of money that was splurged on the duo may appear to be madness. But even in a dynamic scenario like a player auction, there was definitely a method to this madness. It’s not a coincidence that both Starc and Cummins are pacers. After all, “pace bowling” was the buzzword associated with expensive signings at the auction.

Five pacers, including the Australian duo, fetched a sum of ₹10 crore or more. Five more took home more than ₹5 crore. And the ₹4 crore barrier was breached by 14 pacers among the total of 72 players who were bought in the auction. Perhaps it had something to do with the likelihood of the introduction of two bouncers being allowed in an over in IPL 2024.