Comparing IPL salaries of Australian stars Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami
The IPL 2024 auction, which took place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday, gave us plenty of new players to look at as well as millionaires to hail.
Breaking the charts first was Australia's Pat Cummins, who became the most expensive player in the history of the tournament when he was purchased for INR 20.75 crore by SunRisers Hyderabad.
However, the 2023 World Cup-winning captain's record was soon broken by his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc, for whom Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out INR 24.75 crore.
In this article, we compare the IPL salaries of Starc and Cummins to India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami:
#1 Mitchell Starc - Kolkata Knight Riders, INR 24.75 crore
Mitchell Starc created history on Tuesday by becoming the most expensive player in the IPL ever after being snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 24.75 crore.
Starc, whose base price was INR 2 crore, was targeted by the Mumbai Indians, after which Delhi Capitals entered the race.
However, Mumbai Indians were beaten to it by Gujarat Titans, who were, in turn, beaten by Kolkata Knight Riders.
The latter, led by Gautam Gambhir in the hot seat, broke the bank to take home the Australian speedster for the whopping amount.
#2 Pat Cummins - SunRisers Hyderabad, INR 20.75 crore
Not long before Mitchell Starc became the highest-paid cricketer in the history of the IPL, his captain Pat Cummins was purchased by SunRisers Hyderabad for a cool INR 20.75 crore.
The Hyderabad franchise, which is managed by Chennai-based owners, went into an intense bidding war with their southern rivals Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings before finally bagging the 2023 World Cup-winning captain.
Cummins' record, however, did not last long as Kolkata Knight Riders struck gold with his Australia teammate Mitchell Starc.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah - Mumbai Indians, INR 12 crore
Jasprit Bumrah, who was retained by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction, has a salary of INR 12 crore.
The India seamer, who is one of the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment, ranks significantly lesser than his counterparts from Australia Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc but that does not mean his value has diminished by any means.
To put things into perspective, it has to be understood that Bumrah has had this range of salary for quite some time whereas the Australians mentioned above have only recently been picked for such astronomical sums.
Although Bumrah's record in this format of the game and especially the IPL is stellar, he earns significantly less than the two mentioned above.
#4 Mohammed Shami - Gujarat Titans, INR 6.25 crore
Mohammed Shami, who led India's charge in the bowling department in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup held earlier this year, ranks much lower on this list in comparison to the others who have been mentioned above.
Retained by the Gujarat Titans, which is a rather new franchise, Shami earns INR 6.25 crore via his IPL contract.
The Bengal seamer, who has the uncanny ability to move the ball both ways in the air as well as get it to shape after pitching, may feel that he is missing out if he were to compare himself to the others on this list. But it is a fact that foreigners have always earned more than Indians in the IPL auctions.