Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni was brutally trolled by fans after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) broke the bank for Australian pacer Mitchell Starc during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Dubai.
Interestingly, Mitchell Starc and his Australian team captain Pat Cummins became the most expensive players in the history of the cash-rich league.
With Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquiring the services of Mitchell Starc at a whopping price of INR 24.75 crores, the 33-year-old left-arm speedster became the first triple millionaire in the IPL.
For the unversed, Mitchell Starc hasn't played in the IPL since 2015, picking 34 wickets in 27 games in the competition. However, his recent heroics in Australia's World Cup-winning campaign in India seemed to have played a part in his stakes rising exponentially in the IPL.
Mitchell Starc's pace bowling partner and captain in Australian colors, Pat Cummins, joined him in the elite list, becoming just the second player to breach the ₹20 crore mark in the IPL auction.
Before KKR broke all records to hire Mitchell Starc for IPL 2024, Pat Cummins became the first player in the tournament's history to receive a price tag of over ₹20 crores.
Former IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad shelled out an earth-shattering ₹20.5 crore at the auction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Unlike Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, MS Dhoni has never earned that much in the IPL despite leading CSK to five titles during the 16-year history of the elite event.
MS Dhoni's current CSK salary is around ₹12 crore, something fans pointed out on social media.
MS Dhoni's haters were quick to highlight that he earns less than fifty percent of what Mitchell Starc will pocket during the 2024 season of the IPL after being roped in for ₹24.75 crore by KKR.
MS Dhoni has never been part of any franchise other than CSK, having captained the side since IPL's inception in 2008.
MS Dhoni has also never put himself in the auction, having been the marquee player for CSK throughout his career.
Ms Dhoni salary. – 12 CR
Mitchell Starc salary – 24.75 CR
Starc can buy Dhobi 2 times and still have 75 Lakhs 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭— 𝙣 𝙚 𝙨 𝙝꧂ (@mid_619) December 20, 2023
On the other side, KKR's CEO Venky Mysore defended the franchise's decision to break the bank for Mitchell Starc.
“Obviously he (Starc) was a preferred player from skill set standpoint. Initially, we were not successful in some of the bids. Maybe that worked in our favor, because we did end up having money to do this. So we're just thankful that we were able to have him on our side. It shows the value of the player and the skill set he possesses. He's a fabulous player,” Venky Mysore said after KKR's winning bid for the Australian pacer.
“Now it seems like wow, Rs 24.75. I was telling someone that the salary cap of a team when IPL started in 2008 was Rs 20 crore. So things have changed. When the auction is over, all the 10 teams are going to walk out having spent 100 crores and each team decides to slice it differently,” he added.
“So what you've paid to somebody is a matter of perspective. Ultimately, we're all spending the same amount of money. When you plan your team, from a retention standpoint, with the auction far away, you've no idea of who are the players being released from other teams, trades happening, and all that. So it's a very dynamic environment,” Venky Mysore explained.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc reacted to the development in a video shared by his new IPL team, KKR.
“I'm not sure any words would do it justice, really. Alyssa was over there with the Australian team at the minute, so her coverage was slightly ahead of mine here in Australia. So she sort of saw the numbers before I did, so I was getting the updates through her. But, yeah, a fair bit of shock, and certainly excitement with how it was all unfolding. But nothing that I could've ever imagined. Thoroughly thrilled to be joining KKR.” the World Cup-winning Australian fast bowler said in a clip uploaded on X.
“It's been a long time since I played in IPL in 2014 and '15 and have obviously played a fair bit of cricket since then. A lot of it for Australia in different formats. There's been a lot of white-ball cricket there [in India] across a few World Cup campaigns, and so that experience is there and a little bit of leadership if you like, in terms of the experience side of things in white-ball cricket that hopefully I can bring to bring to KKR as well and play my part there. And being able to bowl at different stages I think is something that's held firm throughout,” he elaborated.
“I've probably prioritized international cricket firstly for a long time whilst having a bit of a taste of IPL and Big Bash in Australia. I've always held firm that I've wanted to play my best cricket for Australia and make myself available for Australia where I can. At the same time, the temptation to go back to IPL and how exciting it is to be involved in such a great tournament, big names, big players, big stages – it's too hard to pass up. There's a place to play all of it. it's just being mindful and putting the work ethic in to be able to do all of it,” Mitchell Starc underlined.
“I'm very much looking forward to playing as the home team and experiencing that home crowd [at Eden Gardens]. Some new colors to pull on and a new challenge to look forward to. Hopefully, more of the success that I've had over some time – swinging the new ball, reversing the old, and trying to smack those wickets,” he stressed.
Former India captain Anil Kumble and his ex-national teammates Zaheer Khan and RP Singh were surprised with the earth-shattering price tags Mitchell Starc and Australian skipper Pat Cummins garnered during the auction.
Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan even demanded that the IPL governing council introduce fresh regulations, limiting the amount a franchise could spend on overseas players as auctions were becoming unfair to domestic players.
Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan cited the examples of Jasprit Bumrah (12 crores) and Virat Kohli (17 crores), who were earning far less than they could have earned if they were in the auction.
“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. 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,” Anil Kumble told Jio Cinema.
“To go for ₹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. You have really high-quality Indian players. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, who will be looking at this and thinking what's going on,” Anil Kumble opined.
“This is a great point by Anil because look at how IPL started. It began with icon players having 10-15 percent of the top players which you will have in the franchise. It meant that value and weightage was being given to Indian players. We don't know how the dynamics is going to pan out if all the Indian players are put into the auction and their quality. At some stage, I think the franchises will look at it. You don't want players thinking that ‘It's the Indian Premier League. I am the most premier player – doing well for the country and my IPL team – and not getting the value which the market is deciding. It will be interesting to see how much Bumrah will command in this type of a scenario, who has been a consistent performer over the years and a premier fast bowler,” Zaheer Khan pointed out.
“I am a little surprised with the money KKR spent on Starc. I didn't feel that anyone would cross the ₹20 crore mark. The second thing is Mitchell Starc will be playing the IPL after a long time. It's not that he has put up outstanding performances consistently. He has not played the IPL for eight years,” 2007 T20 World Cup winner RP Singh concluded.
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