Sold at Rs 24.75 cr, Mitchell Starc becomes most expensive purchase in IPL history

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after an elongated bidding war with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the mini auction purchased Australian pace spreadhead Mitchell Starc for a whooping Rs 24.75 crore. This broke the record for the most expensive purchase in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). His counterpart in the Australian team Pat Cummins had himself set the record earlier in the day when the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) purchased him for a price of Rs 21.50 crore. This is for the first team that players have breached the Rs 20 crore mark. 

We won, Mr. Starc! 💜 pic.twitter.com/twJ3VmCPDl

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders)

We won, Mr. Starc! 💜 pic.twitter.com/twJ3VmCPDl

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) December 19, 2023

">December 19, 2023

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) would have set their eyes on both the players but unfortunately going into the auction with a limited purse of Rs 23 crore has proven to be a hindrance. Starc was earlier part of The RCB setup after RCB purchased him for Rs 5 crore in 2014. In this auction RCB purchased West Indian pace bowler Alzaari Joseph for a price of Rs 11.50 crore. They still face a multitude of problems in their bowling order after having released Harshal Patel, Josh Hazelwood, Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and Shahbaz Ahmed among others earlier this year. It would be interesting to see how the new team management would strategize for the rest of the auction with the knowledge of the gaps to fill.