Former India cricketer shows his unhappiness on Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins' massive price at IPL 2024 auction

The cricketing world is still shocked at how much money was spent in the Indian Premier League(IPL) auction 2024. The two most expensive players in the auction are Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins who have been bought for over 20 cr by Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. They are not only the most expensive players in the auction but also in IPL history. Though history has been created, the fact that their performances in T20 cricket have not been that great. There are a lot of experts and analysts who think that the price these players have gone for does not make sense.

The players who were making the most money in IPL in recent years before the auction were Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, who have consistently given their side top-class performances in the IPL. They are also one of the few players who are still playing for the same franchise since they started playing in the IPL. Bumrah has been playing for Mumbai Indians since 2013 and Virat has played for RCB since 2008 and is still one of the most-paid players, but their price is still lower than the Starc and Cummins duo.

Aakash Chopra on Cummins and Starc’s price

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra once again gives his opinion on social media on the absurdity of these prices on his YouTube channel saying “If Mitchell Starc plays all 14 games and bowls his full quota of four overs, each ball will cost ₹7,60,000. Astonishing. But here's a question. Who is the world's best bowler? Who is the IPL's best bowler? His name is Jasprit Bumrah. He gets ₹12 crore and Starc almost 25. That's wrong. I don't grudge anybody's money. I wish everyone gets paid a lot but how is this fair?". 

The former India opener further supports his statement bringing up Virat Kohli as well stating “It's the Indian Premier League. How is one getting paid so less and the other so much? Loyalty is royalty. If tomorrow, Bumrah tells MI 'Please release me and I'll put my name in the auction'. Or if Kohli says the same to RCB, their prices will rise, right? And that's how it should be? If this auction market decides that Starc's price is ₹25 crore, then it will also decide that Kohli should be worth 42 crore, or Bumrah 35 crore. If that isn't happening, there is a fault." 

Chopra has made a clear point that loyalty is royalty and does show his displeasure, but we have to acknowledge that Cummins and Starc might have done something to make the franchises go big for them. Only time will tell whether both the players will live up to the heavy price which they have to live up to. Kohli and Bumrah might be the best players in IPL right now and might be worth more than Cummins and Starc in terms of quality, but it is all in the game which will give us the final picture.