File image of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc© AFP
IPL 2024 auctions were held in Dubai on Tuesday and grabbed a lot of limelight, as per the expectations. Australia pacer Mitchell Starc became the highlight of the event as he received the heaviest paycheck in the history of the tournament. The 33-year-old Aussie was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders at a heft amount of 24.75 crore. Not only him, but Australia skipper Pat Cummins was also not far behind as he was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50. Both the Australia stars surpassed Sam Curran‘s record of being the costliest buy, who was earlier bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 18.25 crore in 2023 auctions.
The sale of Starc and Cummins left many former cricketers and fans astonished. India spin legend Anil Kumble stated that the franchises should be allotted a separate purse for overseas players as Indian players get sidelined during the auctions.
“That’s where I think you seriously need to look at a separate purse for the overseas because otherwise, you will have players not coming into the big auction, especially the foreign players who are in demand. They will choose the smaller auction where you know that you’re going to go for a double-digit or even more and today was a classic example,” Kumble said while speaking on Jio Cinema.
“Yes, those two are exceptional players but Starc hasn’t played in the IPL since 2015. He isn’t the youngest of the lot, and Pat Cummins doesn’t have a great T20 record as a bowler. He is the captain of Australia, he’s done exceptionally for them,” he added.
Kumble further stated that spending a hefty amount of Rs 45 crore on Cummins and Starc was “unprecedented” as only four overseas can feature in Playing XI for a team.
“To go for Rs 45 crore on Starc and Cummins at an auction like this – yes this was unprecedented and we never thought that the 20 crore barrier will be broken – but I certainly believe that since only four players can play in the Playing XI and you have 8 out of the 25, I think it’s only fair that you have a 40 or 45 percent salary of the overall cap for overseas guys,” said Kumble.
“You have really high-quality Indian players. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, who will be looking at this and thinking what’s going on,” he added.
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