Top 5 Released players who got high bids in IPL 2024 auction (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
The IPL 2024 auction proved to be a rain of money for many cricketers. The event happened outside India for the first time and was hosted in Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on December 19. Apart from fans watching on TV and digital media, spectators watched the auction first-hand in the arena as well.
A total of 72 players found homes in their old or new franchises out of 77 possible open slots. 333 players had undergone the hammer wielded by Mallika Sagar, who became the first women auctioneer ever in IPL. Pat Cummins with INR 20.50 crore and Mitchell Starc with INR 24.75 crore bids proved to be the two costliest players not only in this auction but in the history of IPL.
On the other hand, several cricketers who had done well for their franchise, but were not retained by them, also got big bucks in the IPL 2024 auction.
Let’s look at five such players who got high bids in the auction despite not being retained by their franchises:
1. Yash Dayal
Yash Dayal. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
To address their inconsistent bowling performance, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spent a lot of money on the best bowlers available in the IPL 2024 auction. As a result, their fast bowling lineup includes Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Cameron Green, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, and Yash Dayal.
Yash Dayal was bought by RCB for INR 5 crore after he entered the auction as he was not retained by Gujarat Titans. He has done well in IPL 2022 for them, but in IPL 2023, Rinku Singh broke Dayal’s spirits by hitting him for five sixes as the left-arm pacer failed to defend 29 runs in the last over. Dayal has also battled injuries in recent times and it remains to be seen how much value does he brings to the RCB team, especially on the small Chinnaswamy ground and its flat pitch.
2. Umesh Yadav
Umesh Yadav. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
Veteran pacer Umesh Yadav has an extremely poor IPL 2023, where he picked just one wicket in eight matches for Kolkata Knight Riders. Yadav is massively experienced with 136 wickets in 141 IPL games, his economy has been very poor. However, Gujarat Titans decided to trust Yadav’s experience.
They successfully bid for Umesh Yadav and paid him INR 5.80 crore. This is despite him having only 26 wickets in the last four IPL seasons combined. Yadav will join fellow ICC World Cup 2015 India teammates Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma in the GT squad‘s fast bowling unit and the franchise will hope that the Vidarbha pacer has an excellent season in IPL 2024.
3. Harshal Patel
Harshal Patel. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Harshal Patel was surprisingly not retained by RCB ahead of IPL 2024 auction. He was the Purple Cap holder for RCB in IPL 2021 with 32 wickets and had not done too badly since then, taking 33 wickets in IPL 2022 and 2023 combined. However, he found himself in the IPL 2024 auction.
Punjab Kings then splurged INR 11.75 crore on Harshal Patel in the auction, making him the most expensive Indian player in the said event. With Harshal on board, PBKS have a death overs specialist, which lessens the burden on Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran. Harshal will hope to power the PBKS team to a playoff finish this season.
4. Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur. (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
Shardul Thakur was released by Kolkata Knight Riders after he managed just seven wickets in 11 matches at an economy of 10.48. With his release, KKR freed up INR 10 crore for the auction. Despite his record of 89 wickets in 86 IPL matches at a high economy of 9.16, Shardul Thakur managed to find a buyer in Chennai Super Kings.
Notably, Thakur had found most of his IPL success with the CSK team, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. He even won the IPL in 2018 and 2021 with the Yellow Army. And CSK got him for INR 4 crore, bringing much-needed experience to their bowling lineup and lower-order hitting capabilities with the bat.
5. Rilee Rossouw
Rilee Rossouw. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
Rilee Russouw had played in IPL 2023 for the first time in eight years and scored 209 runs in eight matches for Delhi Capitals with one fifty at a strike rate of 148.23. But the DC franchise released him for the IPL 2024 auction. Here, he found a new home in Punjab Kings, who paid a massive sum of INR 8 crore for his services.
Rossouw will play a major role in PBKS’ strategy at the top and might even open with Shikhar Dhawan to maximize the powerplay overs. His T20 numbers are amazing with 7933 runs in 312 T20s at a strike rate of 144.84 with six centuries and 48 fifties.
