Our goal is to forecast the major purchases, the team that will spend the most, and whether a bid of 20 crores will be made ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
According to recency bias, which has determined which players play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or any other T20 league in the world, the IPL mini-auctions have gotten more and more exciting. In the 2022 edition, there were some fierce bidding battles between all 10 franchises before four players were able to surpass the INR 15 crore mark. Recalling the past year, England all-rounder Sam Curran made history by becoming the most expensive player ever to be purchased at auction when he was signed by Punjab Kings for an astounding 18.5 crore, only a few days after winning Player of the Tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup. This factor will be important in Dubai on Tuesday once more.
Mitchell Starc. Most likely—absolutely? He is a tall, left-arm pacer with the ability to bowl in all phases of an innings, swing the ball, change up his pace deftly, and be a useful batter in the lower order. With the intention of preparing for the T20 World Cup in June, the three-time World Cup winner—who will be making his IPL comeback after eight years—has set his base price at INR 2 crore.
Are there any more participants? How about Pat Cummins? In an IPL auction, all-rounders are always in great demand. Take a look at Cameron Green (17.50 crore), Ben Stokes (16.25 crore), and Curran in 2023. When Cummins was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a contract worth 15.50 crore in 2020, he was present. And after leading Australia to the WTC title win, keeping the Ashes in England, and defeating India in the ODI World Cup final with a stunning performance, the 30-year-old has been the talk of 2023.
And who else? Possible price: INR 2 crore for Gerald Coetzee. Rachin Ravindra, the breakout star of the World Cup (Base price: INR 50 lakh).
Anybody in the game who could win an unexpected sum of money?
Keep an eye out for one featuring Shardul Thakur and Harshal Patel, who both have a base price of INR 2 crore. Why? Due to the fact that they are both Indian all-rounders with fast bowling skills, which makes them rare and will make them more desirable at the auction. Both have a propensity to give up runs, but what sets them apart at the auction are their grasp of bringing variations, their experience bowling in Indian conditions, and their ability to tonk sixes later in the order. While Harshal, who won the Purple Cap in 2021, is an expert at death-overs, Thakur is more of a middle-over enforcer. However, since both are part of the same set (2), the compensation will be determined by When and by whom is someone called out?
Remember Daryl Mitchell from New Zealand, who is included in the same set but has a base price of INR 1 crore. And naam to suna hi hoga, India’s very own Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh, who is a part of set number 7 and costs INR 40 lakh at base, did not have a great domestic season for Tamil Nadu, but it is rare to find an Indian finisher who can get going from the first ball. With his off-spin variety, he also grabbed 17 wickets at less than seven runs per over in nine games in the recent Tamil Nadu Premier League.
Dilshan Madushanka, a left-arm pacer who led Sri Lanka’s attack in the ODI World Cup and took 21 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of just 6.70, may also be included on this list.
The big question now is: Will the IPL 2024 auction see a bid of 20 crore?
Four teams—the Gujarat Titans (38.15), Sunrisers Hyderabad (34), Kolkata Knight Riders (32.7), and Chennai Super Kings (31.4)—will participate in the auction with purses totaling more than INR 30 crores. Since KKR needs to fill 12 spots, spending 20 crore on a single player is not an option. Gujarat has a hole the size of Hardik Pandya to cover, so they might try to go overboard. However, they also need to cover eight slots. This suggests that, with the fewest number of spots to fill (6), only CSK and SRH, who finished on opposite sides of the points table the previous season and have largely retained their core, could be chasing that mark.
[…] which players play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or any other T20 league in the world, the IPL mini-auctions have gotten more and more exciting. In the 2022 edition, there were some fierce bidding battles […]