Australian cricket team fast bowler Mitchell Starc made history on Tuesday by becoming the costliest player in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran cricketer sparked a major bidding war which ended with Kolkata Knight Riders paying a massive sum of Rs 24.75 Crore for his services. KKR owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, whose movie 'Dunki' will release on December 21, was asked by a fan on social media whether his film's first day collection will be more than Starc's auction price and he came up with a hilarious response.
"Yeh ku sawaal hai bhai. Chalo and Cheese wala. Dunki me aayega wahan to gaya hai bas!! Ha ha" (Why is this a question? Dunki will bring me money and that (Starc) took my money away)," he posted on X (formerly Twitter) in response to the fan's question.
Such are the unpredictable ways of IPL that the one third of the formidable Australian pace trio, Josh Hazlewood, went unsold in the first round of auction from a base price of Rs 2 crore.
Gujarat Titans and KKR were involved in a long and exhilarating bidding battle for Starc before the latter lapped him up for a record deal.
Starc, 33, has usually prioritised international duty over IPL but decided to enter the auction with one eye on the T20 World Cup that follows the IPL.
He has only played only two seasons of the IPL, taking 34 wickets in 27 games at an average of 20.38.
In contrast, Cummins has been a regular at the IPL but skipped the 2023 edition to focus on the Ashes and the ODI World Cup.
An intense bidding war followed for Cummins 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.
(With PTI inputs)