Finance
Pat Cummins, Australia’s World Cup-winning captain, became the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history on Tuesday when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won his services for a whopping Rs 20.5 crore during the second round of the IPL 2024 mini-auction.
Sunrisers Hyderabad eventually secured the Australian captain for a record-breaking fee after a lengthy bidding war between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Cummins became the focus of a bidding war between IPL heavyweights CSK and Mumbai Indians, with a starting price of Rs. 2.00 crore. The furious bidding war increased the price to 4.8 crore, driven by CSK. Soon after, Royal Challengers Bangalore joined Chennai and Mumbai in the chase with an offer of Rs. 5.00 Cr.
Sunrisers also made an offer of Rs. 8.00 Cr, making Cummins the day’s first millionaire. The bidding war between SRH and RCB heated up, with both raising their bids to Rs. 12.00 Cr.
The rivalry heated up as offers crossed the 15-crore threshold, causing SRH to increase their offer to 17 crore. Cummins acquired the title of IPL’s most expensive player in history, beating Sam Curran’s record sale of Rs 18.50 crore in the 2023 auction.
Nonetheless, the battle remained fierce, with RCB raising its bid to Rs. 19.25 crore. Eventually, SRH broke through, attaining Rs. 20 Cr. The bidding war reached Rs. 20.50 crore, gaining Pat Cummins for the squad. This marked the inaugural breach of the 20-crore barrier in an IPL auction.
Source:IANS
