At the 2024 IPL auction, Mitchell Starc became the most expensive cricketer in IPL history two hours after Pat Cummins had set the record.

At the 2024 IPL auction, Mitchell Starc was expected to be part of frantic bidding, especially after helping Australia beat India in the final of both the World Test Championship and World Cup finals.

Follow the IPL 2024 auction live here.

He had set his base price at INR 2 crore. Delhi Capitals opted for him first. There was a counter-bid from the Mumbai Indians, and the price soared to INR 9.8 crore when the Kolkata Knight Riders joined in.

Mumbai backed out at INR 10 crore, but the Gujarat Titans joined in, and Starc’s price raced through the ranks of the most expensive purchases in IPL history.

In the last auction, Punjab Kings had set a new record by acquiring Sam Curran for INR 18.5 crore. In this edition, Sunrisers Hyderabad had surpassed that with an INR 20.5 crore bid for Pat Cummins.

Mitchell Starc – 24.75 crore
Pat Cummins – 20.50 crore

Records tumbling in the IPL auction 🔥#IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/hxfWHdiEGG

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 19, 2023

However, Gujarat and Kolkata soon went past Cummins’ amount. It was not until INR 24.75 crore that Gujarat finally opted out, and Kolkata found their bowling spearhead.

For perspective, the amount is a shade under a quarter of a hundred crore rupees, the maximum amount a franchise can spend on a cricketer at the 2024 auction.

Starc had played in the IPL in only 2014 and 2015, for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He snared 34 wickets at 20.38 apiece while going at 7.17 an over, but had done little of note with the bat.

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.