Australia National Cricket Team star Mitchell Starc became the most expensive Indian Premier League player in history when he joined Kolkata Knight Riders for an incredible 24.75 Crore INR at the Player Auction in Dubai on December 19, 2023. Starc broke the record set by compatriot Pat Cummins earlier in the auction; Cummins had become the first player to breach the 20 Crore INR mark when he joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in a 20.50 Crore-worth deal, a milestone that Starc surpassed less than an hour later. (IPL Auction Live Blog | Streaming | Cricket News)
Starc, despite his pedigree, has only played once in the Indian Premier League before. The Australian pacer was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team for the 2014 and 2015 seasons and was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2018 edition, although he did not play a match on that occasion. Despite that, he sparked a massive bidding war upon his return to the auction in 2023, with Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, and Gujarat Titans among the teams involved.
Previously in the same set, West Indian Alzarri Joseph bagged himself an 11.50 Crore INR contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Shivam Mavi went for 6.40 Crore to Lucknow Super Giants. Gujarat Titans picked Umesh Yadav for 5.80 Crore and Chetal Sakariya joined Kolkata Knight Riders in a 50 Lakh INR deal.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals took West Indian smasher Rovman Powell for 7.40 Crore INR while Delhi Capitals later thwarted a challenge from the Royals to secure England's Harry Brook for 4 Crore INR. New Zealander Rachin Ravindra went to Chennai Super Kings for a meagre 1.8 Crore INR fee while Punjab Kings bought Harshal Patel for INR 11.75 Crore. South Africa's Gerald Coetzee signed with Mumbai Indians in a deal worth 5 Crore INR. Daryll Mitchel, meanwhile, landed a big payoff when Chennai Super Kings successfully bid 14 Crore for the New Zealand man.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Full List Of Retained Players By KKR:
Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shreyas Iyer, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Full List Of Released Players By KKR:
Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Aarya Desai, David Wiese, Shardul Thakur, Narayan Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Johnson Charles.
Players Bought: Mitchell Starc (24.75 Crore), Chetan Sakariya (50 Lakhs)
