Not once in the previous 16 Indian Premier League (IPL) player auctions had a bid breached the ₹20 crore mark. In fact, the auction purse for each team at the start of the IPL in 2008 was ₹20 crore.
On Tuesday, the barrier was broken, not just once but twice. Australia’s World Cup-winning pace duo of Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins shattered all records, emerging as the biggest beneficiaries.
While Cummins became the first to overhaul the ₹20 crore barrier, when the Sunrisers Hyderabad outbid the Royal Challengers Bangalore to sign Cummins for a whopping ₹20.50 crore.