Starc And Cummins To Coetzee And Patel: Six IPL Big-Money Buys
The 2024 Indian Premier League begins on Friday, starring some of the world's best cricketers. AFP Sport highlights six who went for eye-watering sums at the player auction for the 17th edition of the richest Twenty20 league in the world:
Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders)
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The Australian is the most expensive buy in IPL history after Kolkata shelled out $2.98 million on the fast bowler and handy lower-order slugger.
Starc, a left-arm swing exponent with 358 Test wickets, returns to the IPL nine years after he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Videos of the 34-year-old bowling in training for Kolkata have generated huge interest on social media.
Starc took 16 wickets in Australia's 50-over World Cup triumph, including three in the final against hosts India.
Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in his first stint as an IPL captain after they paid $2.5 million for the 30-year-old fast bowler, an IPL auction record until Starc went under the hammer shortly after.
Former Australia pace bowling great Glenn McGrath said the hefty price tags would not impact Cummins or Starc "even one percent".
Cummins led Australia to win the World Test Championship triumph last year where they also beat India in the final.
