5 most overrated signings of IPL 2024 auction ft. Pat Cummins
All 10 IPL franchises have finalized their squads for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 after a successful player auction in Dubai on December 19.
With a total of 77 slots available to fill, the franchises signed 72 players, including 44 Indians, at a cumulative price of ₹230.45 crore.
A total of 18 players went for ₹5 crore or more, including Mitchell Starc, who became the most expensive player in IPL history. The Australian speedster went to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a humongous fee of ₹24.75 crore.
There were some great bargains as well, such as Rachin Ravindra to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹1.80 crore, Gerald Coetzee to the Mumbai Indians (MI) for ₹5 crore, and Wanindu Hasaranga to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ₹1.50 crore.
However, some buys raised eyebrows with franchises shelling astronomical sums for players, who have not been in the scheme of things of late.
On that note, here are five of the most overrated purchases from the recent IPL 2024 mini-auction.
#1 Pat Cummins - ₹20.50 crore to SRH
Pat Cummins created history as the first-ever player to breach the ₹20 crore mark in an IPL auction. The Sunrisers shelled out a whopping ₹20.50 crore to sign the Australian captain.
While the addition of Cummins will instil some experience and solidity in their bowling department, the question remains if Hyderabad needed an overseas pacer in the first place.
Both Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who were already part of SRH, are quality bowlers and perhaps provide more variety than Cummins in the shortest format of the game. While Cummins is exceptional at hitting the right areas consistently, both Jansen and Farooqi operate well with the new ball and can be effective in death overs as well.
With possibly only one overseas slot available for a bowler at Hyderabad, players including Jansen, Farooqi, and even Wanindu Hasaranga are expected to warm the benches to accommodate Cummins.
#2 Mitchell Starc - ₹24.75 crore to KKR
After Cummins' ₹20.50 crore move to SRH, Mitchell Starc was signed by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a record-shattering amount of ₹24.75 crore.
Spending almost a quarter of your total available auction purse for just one player puts the entire strategy and team combination at risk. While it is true that Kolkata needed a specialist pace bowler, spending almost ₹25 crore for only one bowler could backfire.
Undoubtedly, Starc is one of the best pacers of his generation, however, his T20 numbers aren't as laudable as his price tag. In fact, he hasn't featured in a single T20 game so far this year and his last IPL match came way back in 2015.
Since 2021, Starc has played only 23 T20 games and has taken 24 wickets at an economy rate of 8.65. Although these are decent numbers, they aren't as mind-boggling as one would hope from the world's costliest T20 franchise player.
#3 Spencer Johnson - ₹10 crore to GT
Another Australian pacer on the list, Spencer Johnson, became the costliest buy for the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the IPL 2024 auction. The 2022 IPL winner spent as much as ₹10 crore to make the left-arm pacer their second-most popular player in the squad after Rashid Khan (₹15 crore).
Johnson has been making waves on the back of his impressive performances in the Big Bash League (BBL) and in the Men's Hundred competition. The 28-year-old has got pace in him and can swing the ball early on.
While there is certain potential in Johnson, he is yet to prove himself against some of the world's best batters. Moreover, spending ₹10 crore straight up for his maiden IPL contract might put Johnson under pressure, who has started to play competitive T20 cricket from January 2023.
While GT desperately needed Johnson, snapping up Dilshan Madushanka for a somewhat cheaper price or even raising a paddle for Luke Wood might not have been bad shouts.
#4 Shivam Mavi - ₹6.40 crore to LSG
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) came in with a purse of just ₹13.15 crore at the auction and needed six slots to fill. They spent almost half of their budget on Shivam Mavi, who was bought for ₹6.40 crore after a bidding war with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Mavi burst onto the scene after he impressed at the 2018 U-19 World Cup for India. He clocked speeds around 145 kmph at the age of 19 and hurried the opposition batters at will.
However, his talent hasn't come to fruition as of yet. Picked up by KKR and GT previously, Mavi has played 32 IPL games so far, in which he has taken out 30 wickets at an economy rate of 8.71.
Despite having a mix of variations up his sleeves, Mavi proves to be erratic and could go expensive sometimes.
#5 Harshal Patel - ₹11.75 crore to PBKS
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) broke the bank to acquire the services of Harshal Patel for a huge sum of ₹11.75 crore.
Giving up almost ₹12 crores for Harshal might prove costly for Punjab as the former RCB pacer hasn't been at his best for some time now. So far this year, Harshal has leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.43 after 22 T20s and has picked up 23 wickets.
A player with a bunch of slower ball variations in his arsenal, Harshal's acquisition might prove to be a gamble considering his inconsistent performances.