The IPL 2024 mini-auction in Dubai threw up some staggering numbers, with Australia's World Cup winners clinching the most lucrative contracts in the history of the tournament.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the most sought after player, returning to the league after eight years. The all-format champion became the most expensive player ever in IPL, snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for almost $3 million, edging ahead of his captain Pat Cummins who had earlier become the first cricketer to breach the 200 million rupee mark.
Given the small pool of players and sizeable purses available, some players attracted much bigger bids than they would have during the main auction, as the attention of franchises was trained on a handful of names.
What it means now is that the top four most expensive players in IPL are all overseas names. Here, we take a look at the most expensive players at next year's tournament.
Highest-paid cricketers of IPL 2024
1. Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders): 247.5 million rupees ($2.98m)
2. Pat Cummins (Sunrisers Hyderabad): 205m rupees ($2.46m)
3. Sam Curran (Punjab Kings): 185 million rupees ($2.22m)
4. Cameron Green (Royal Challengers Bangalore): 175m rupees ($2.1m)
5. KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants): 170m rupees ($2m)
6= Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow Super Giants): 160m rupees ($1.92m)
6= Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings): 160m rupees ($1.92m)
6= Rishabh Pant (Delhi Capitals): 160m rupees ($1.92m)
6= Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders): 160m rupees ($1.92m)
6= Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians): 160m rupees ($1.92m)
11. Ishan Kishan (Mumbai Indians): 152.5m rupees ($1.83m)
12= Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians): 150m rupees ($1.8m)
12= Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans): 150m rupees ($1.8m)
12= Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore): 150m rupees ($1.8m)
15= Daryl Mitchell (Chennai Super Kings): 140m rupees ($1.68m)
15= Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals): 140m rupees ($1.68m)
15= Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings): 140m rupees ($1.68m)
18. Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders): 122.5m rupees ($1.47m)
19= Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians): 120m rupees ($1.44m)
19= MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings): 120m rupees ($1.44m)
