The recently finished IPL 2024 auction, which took place in the opulent surroundings of a magnificent arena in Dubai, was an incredible occasion. With eight franchise tables filled with their individual owners—accountants, statisticians, cricket players serving as advisors, astute businessmen—it exuded a lively atmosphere.

They gathered together, each placing a bid for a combination of players that would win them the game. If something had gone wrong, they would have spent many hours debating, researching, and hiring potential candidates in order to find the best permutation and combination of options.

The winning bidder was delighted when the wooden gavel struck the word “SOLD” at the end of a player bid, which was handled by the very clever and graceful Mallika Sagar. It transported one back to Mumbai’s 1970s cricket era, when her father Virenchee Sagar, a passionate cricket fan, put together the legendary Sunil Gavaskar-led Nirlon cricket team.

Back then, corporate cricket had an air of professionalism, and a strong showing could catapult a cricketer into the public eye. Nirlon boasted a stellar team of first-class and Test cricket players, each carefully chosen to fulfill a particular role.

The IPL’s glamorous franchisees are currently performing a similar job, supporting every decision with a plethora of research data and extensive knowledge about cricket.

The BCCI and the global cricket community have reaped enormous financial benefits from the IPL. The franchisees’ squads have been inconsistently changed on a regular basis.

In2024, the IPL will celebrate its 17th season, and the majority of fans have expressed concern about the players’ frequent transfers between teams.
Everyone at the franchise level works very hard to win over players and win their commitment. Each side has a distinct culture and methodology, and it does take time for them to mould players to understand it.

Australia’s fast-bowling tandem of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, who received salaries of INR 24.75 crore and 20.50 crore, respectively, made history at the IPL 2024 player auction held in Dubai.

Among the other high earners in the IPL Player Auction were Daryl Mitchell (INR 14 crore), Harshal Patel (INR 11.75 crore), and Alzarri Joseph (INR 11.50 crore).

Several players who were not very expensive at the auction received large salaries this season.

Sameer Rizvi – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 8.40 crore deal with CSK
Kumar Kushagra – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 7.2 crore deal with DC
Shubham Dubey – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 5.8 crore deal with RR
Robin Minz – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 3.6 crore deal with GT
Sushant Mishra – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 2.2 crore deal with GT
Yash Dayal – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 5.0 crore deal with RR
Shahrukh Khan – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 7.4 crores deal with GT
M Siddharth – base price of INR 20L, earns INR 2.4 crores deal with LSG