Venky Mysore contextualizes Mitchell Starc’s record-breaking bid by saying, “20 crore was the salary cap of a team in 2008.”

Australia’s captain for the World Cup, Pat Cummins, set a new record on December 19 during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction in Dubai, as Sunrisers Hyderabad paid an unprecedented INR 20.50 crore to get him. Shortly after, colleague Mitchell Starc of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) shattered Cummins’ record by obtaining the highest-ever bid of INR 24.75 crore. This is the second time that KKR has signed the left-arm pacer, who cost INR 9.4 crore in 2018. Venky Mysore, Managing Director of KKR, reflected on the occasion at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

He recounted how, in the first season of the lucrative league, all clubs were subject to a salary cap of INR 20 crore. “Well, you know, my opinion on this is that if you kind of look at it from the prism of a cost associated with being a player,. And it appears to be, wow, 24.75 now. I was explaining to someone that, at the time the IPL began in 2008, a team’s total pay cap was Rs 20 crore.

Hence, things have altered, correct? However, in our opinion—I believe—all ten teams will leave the auction having spent a total of 100 crores, with each team choosing to divide the winnings according to its own criteria. Therefore, what you have paid someone is a matter of perception. In the end, the amount of money spent by everyone of us is equal,” Venky Mysore remarked.

The Delhi Capitals showed interest in Mitchell Starc at first, offering a basic price of INR 2 crore.

It is noteworthy that, from the start, KKR chose not to take part in the drawn-out IPL bidding process.  The two-time winners started bidding after the Mumbai Indians replied until they received an INR 8 crore offer. KKR finally acquired Mitchell Starc for a hefty amount of INR 24.75 crore after a protracted struggle with the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans.

KKR made a strong bid for both great England all-rounder Chris Woakes and West Indies captain Rovman Powell. They have signed Indian wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat, promising Indian pacer Chetan Sakariya, and Mumbai batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who is yet to receive a cap.

Since the auction is so far away, it is difficult to organize your team from a retention aspect because you are unaware of the players from other teams who are being released, trades that are taking place, and other details. Thus, the environment is highly dynamic. So you don’t enter the auction with a certain mindset either. Really, we had choices. Like they do, you have to have options. Saying, “Sorry, we lost out to GT,” would have put us in the same situation. Additionally, we have a strategy. I believe that each person arrives with their own set of plans. We’ve had enough time to exist. “Well, I’m not sure if this is my fourteenth auction,” Venky Mysore remarked.

You just need to be ready for the fact that you will win some and lose some. He was clearly a preferred player in terms of skill set, even if it wasn’t like you entered the game with that mentality. Everything occasionally works out. In several of the bids, we were initially unsuccessful. Perhaps that was to our advantage because, in the end, we did have the funds to carry out this task; otherwise, we might not have been able to. So all we can say is that we’re grateful to have him on our side,” he continued.