Pat Cummins becomes the most expensive IPL player as SRH break the bank for the Australian captain | Cricket News
A month after lifting the ODI World Cup trophy, Australian skipper Pat Cummins broke the ceiling in the IPL auction as he became the most expensive buy in the hory of the league. It was Sunrisers Hyderabad who got Cummins for a whooping Rs. 20.5 crore after an intense bidding war ensued in Dubai ahead of the 17th edition of the league also featuring Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings.
It was a first instance of a player being bought for 20 crore INR or more. Previously, Sam Curran had been the most expensive player, sold for 18.50 crore to the Punjab Kings ahead of the last season.
“Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season. I’ve played at Hyderabad a lot of times and loved it. Can’t wait to get started. Great to see another Aussie in Travis Head there. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this season,” Cummins said in a video from the SRH social media handle.
PAT 🧡
Welcome, Cummins! 🫡#HereWeGOrange pic.twitter.com/qSLh5nDbLM
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) December 19, 2023
Cummins had been previously with the Kolkata Knight Riders for a couple of seasons but had decided to not feature in the league this year ahead of the World Test Championship Final – another trophy Cummins claimed this year as the Australian skipper.
Cummins has a total of 45 scalps in the 42 appearances he has in the league but the right-arm quick also boasts a strike rate of 152, and one of the quickest half centuries in the league’s hory (14 deliveries). Cummins’ overall T20 record is a 143 scalps from 121 matches at an economy rate of 7.98.
SRH had been eyeing to strengthen their pace attack but with the Australian skipper, they also have a strong contender to become the franchise captain – taking over the responsibilities from Aiden Markram.
The franchise also bid 6.8 crore INR for Travis Head, who was the player of the match of the recently concluded World Cup final against India.
Having lifted the IPL trophy in 2016, Hyderabad finished at the bottom of the points table last season.
