The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Auction had a strong start, with Rovman Powell from Set 1 immediately starting a bidding war between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), with the latter ultimately purchasing the Jamaican player for INR 7.40 crore.
The No. 1 player in the list, Harry Brook, also caught the attention of a few franchises before ending up in Delhi Capitals (DC) for 4 INR crore.
Travis Head, one of the top picks predicted by pundits, was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 6.80 crore. The 2016 Champions tussled in an auction battle with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but the Kavya Maran-owned side was too obstinate to give up.
Talking about Set 2, SRH once again raised their paddle for Wanindu Hasaranga and got him for a base price of INR 1.50 crore. Furthermore, Rachin Ravindra, who was predicted to be one of the highest-paid players today, was sold to CSK for just INR 1.80 crore.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side had a great outing in this set as it also acquired Daryl Mitchell for a massive INR 14 crore and Shardul Thakur for INR 4 crore, who made his return to his former team.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) also marked their presence in this IPL auction, as they secured Harshal Patel for INR 11.75 cr. Preity Zinta also lifted the paddle for the last player on the list, Chris Woakes, for whom they paid INR 4.20 cr after some bidding battle with a few teams.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians (MI) secured the services of Gerald Coetzee for INR 5 crore, while Azmatullah Omarzai was bought by Gujarat Titans (GT) for the base price of INR 50 lakh.
The auction room got heated up with the name of Pat Cummins. MI and CSK, initially, had a tough bidding war for the player. RCB joined the party around the INR 5 crore mark and swept out CSK, only to see SRH also joining in. The two teams had a significant tussle going on with no one wanting to give up. Eventually, the Australian World Cup-winning skipper also surpassed Sam Curran to become the most expensive player. The Orange Army acquired the player for a massive INR 20.50 crore. With this, Cummins also became the first player to cross the 20-crore mark.
Notably, the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Steve Smith, Manish Pandey, and Karun Nair from Set 1 remained unsold for now but will likely get back towards the end of the day. None from Set 2 were unsold.
SET 1
| Players | Team | Price |
| Harry Brook | Delhi Capitals | INR 4 cr |
| Travis Head | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 6.80 cr |
| Karun Nair | unsold | NA |
| Manish Pandey | unsold | NA |
| Rovman Powell | Rajasthan Royals | INR 7.40 cr |
| Rilee Rossouw | unsold | NA |
| Steve Smith | unsold | NA |
SET 2
| Players | Team | Price |
| Gerald Coetzee | Mumbai Indians | INR 5 cr |
| Pat Cummins | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 20.50 cr |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 1.50 cr |
| Daryl Mitchell | Chennai Super Kings | INR 14 cr |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | Gujarat Titans | INR 50 lacs |
| Harshal Patel | Punjab Kings | INR 11.75 cr |
| Rachin Ravindra | Chennai Super Kings | INR 1.80 cr |
| Shardul Thakur | Chennai Super Kings | INR 4 cr |
| Chris Woakes | Punjab Kings | INR 4.20 cr |