DUBAI: Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc was sold for Rs 24.75 crore to Kolkata Knights Riders (KKR) on Tuesday, becoming the most expensive player in the history of IPL auctions. Starc will return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after an eight-year absence, having previously played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Record-smashing Aussies

He surpassed Australia captain Pat Cummins who went to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.50 crore on Tuesday in the auction in Dubai. An intense bidding war followed for the World Cup 2023 winning fast bowler with Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad raising their paddles frenetically to secure the services of the fast-bowling all-rounder.

In the end, it was SRH who broke the bank for Cummins, who drew the highest-ever bid surpassing the Rs 18.5 crore that Punjab Kings had shelled out for England's Sam Curran last year. It was not the first time that Cummins attracted huge sums at the IPL auction. Ahead of the 2020 edition, KKR had paid Rs 15.5 crore for his services.

Other notable buys

Among the big buys included New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell who had a good ODI World Cup. He was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Rs 14 crore. Harshal Patel, who was released by RCB ahead of the auction, remains a sought-after player with Punjab Kings paying Rs 11.75 crore for the out of favour India pacer.

Experienced pacer Umesh Yadav was picked up by Gujarat Titans for Rs 5.80 crore after a bidding tussle with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals.

West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph also drew in big bucks. He was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 11.50 crore.

SRH also grabbed the services of Australia's World Cup final hero Travis Head for Rs 6.80 crore after an intense bidding battle with CSK. Veteran medium Jaydev Unadkat was snapped by SRH for Rs 1.60 crore.

Meanwhile, Rovman Powell emerged as the costliest player in set 1 of the IPL auction, going to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 7.40 crore. West Indies T20 skipper Powell, who had a base price of Rs 2 crore, was the first player to go under the hammer at the mini-auction and as many as three teams showed keen interest to rope him in for the 2024 season.

Eventually, Rajasthan Royals got their hands on the big hitter, who also captains their team Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Head, who scored a match-winning century in the ODI World Cup final against India and also starred in the World Test Championship final against the Rohit Sharma-led team earlier this year, on the other hand, saw reigning champions Chennai Super Kings and SRH indulge in a bidding war.

The wicketkeeper batter was finally grabbed by 2016 champions SRH.

"We really wanted him (Travis Head) because we needed an opening left-handed batter. Adding to that he can bowl spin as well. I never thought we would get him for that price because of his performance being tremendous in the last couple of years in T20Is and ODIs for Australia," SRH's spin bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan said. The trio of former Australia skipper Steve Smith, India's Manish Pandey and Rilee Rossouw went unsold, while England's Harry Brook was snapped by Delhi Capitals for Rs 4 crore.

New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra, with a base price of Rs 50 lakh, was snapped by CSK for a modest Rs 1.8 crore. Ravindra was another star of the recently held ODI World Cup in India.

Young South Africa pacer Gerald Coetzee attracted a winning bid of Rs 5 crore from Mumbai Indians while India pacer Shardul Thakur returned to CSK for Rs 4 crore.

Mumbai Indians also bought Sri Lankan bowler Dilshan Madushanka for Rs. 4.60 crore.

The trio of former Australia skipper Steve Smith, India's Manish Pandey and Rilee Rossouw went unsold, while England's Harry Brook was snapped by Delhi Capitals for Rs 4 crore.

Uncapped all-rounders

29-year-old Shubham Dubey who caught the attention of the bidders after an impressive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign was bought by Rajasthan Royals for 5.8 crore.

Uttar Pradesh batter Sameer Rizvi was picked up by CSK for 8.40 crore.

Former Punjab Kings player Shahrukh Khan was sold to Gujarat Titans for an amount of Rs 7.40 crore.

Uncapped wicket-keepers

19-year-old Jharkhand team wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 7.20 crore after a brief bidding war with Gujarat Titans

Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 40 lakhs, while Indian Ricky Bhui was bought by Delhi Capitals for 20 lakhs.