Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is heading back to the Kolkata Knight Riders after attracting $A1.34 million on the first day of the Indian Premier League auction, but former skipper Steve Smith was not as fortunate.
Cummins didn't have to wait long for a hefty payday as the third lot of the event but his price represented somewhat of a bargain for the Knight Riders, who'd paid around $A3.1 million for him at the 2020 IPL auction.
Cummins played seven games for KKR in the 2021 IPL, taking nine wickets and scoring 93 runs. He did not return for the second portion of the season after the COVID-19 postponement.
He will be joined at the Knight Riders by talented India top-order batsmen Shreyas Iyer, who fetched the biggest pay packet, attracting $A2.27 million.
But former captain Smith was not as lucky, failing to get a single bid.
Smith, who played IPL 2021 with Delhi, set his starting price at approximately $A370,000, but was quickly passed in after no franchise showed interest.
Australian teammate David Warner is headed to Delhi after being sold for $A1.16 million, a huge reduction on his $2.38 million price last year.
The aggressive opener struggled through the 2021 season with Hyderabad and was axed as captain midway through the tournament before he was dropped from the side altogether.
Coming off his heroics in the T20 World Cup final, Mitch Marsh also found himself a nice salary, joining Warner at Delhi for $A1.2 million.
But Australian teammate Matthew Wade went unsold, at the same starting price as Smith.
They could still be picked up by one of the 10 teams when the auction resumes on Sunday.
India's Shikhar Dhawan was the first player to go under the hammer, bought for $A1.53 million by the Punjab Kings.
New Zealand paceman Trent Boult also attracted some serious bidding, sold for $A1.48 million to the Rajasthan Royals.
Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis had already earned their IPL millions before the auction; Maxwell was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore after being bought for $A2.52 million at the 2021 auction, while Stoinis has penned a deal with new franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
