From Mitchell Starc to Pat Cummins: How the top 10 costliest purchases of IPL 2024 fared this season?

The Indian Premier League 2024 is about to reach its end. The 2024 edition of the cash-rich league witnessed a lot of whopping hikes in both purchases and scores, making it one of the most historical ones of all. Mitchell Starc turned out to be the most expensive player in the tournament's history as Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for a whopping INR 24.75 crore. Pat Cummins and some other players also hit the paydirt in the auction. While some were able to live up to the price they were picked for, the others failed to deliver miserably.

Let us take a look at how the top 10 costliest players of the season fared this year.

1. Mitchell Starc

Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc was roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders at Rs. 24.75 crores, which made him the most expensive player in the history of the IPL. However, the left-arm speedster failed to live up to the expectations initially for KKR. Starc looked slippery at the beginning of the season, giving away more than 10 runs an over with one or no scalps in many matches that saw him failing to prove his worth for the price.

However, the Australian pacer has looked far more sprightly in the last four matches he has played where he peaked at just the right time in the first qualifier against the Sunrisers Hyderabad picking 3 wickets for 34 runs to take the team to the summit clash. So far in the season, Starc has picked 15 wickets from 13 matches.

2. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins’ recent success at the World Test Championship Final 2022 and World Cup 2023 saw him getting picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad to take over the skipper’s duties this season for Rs. 20.75 crores and the former didn’t fail to deliver. As the team gears up to contest the final this season, Cummins' journey as the captain has been magnificent. His leadership saw SRH notching the highest-ever total in the history of IPL.

While the Australian is widely regarded as a batting all-rounder, he emphatically proved his worth more with the ball. In 15 matches, Cummins has picked 17 wickets at an economy of 9.29.

3. Daryl Mitchell

Chennai Super Kings’ search for dependable middle-order batsman landed them on Kiwi batter Daryl Mitchell for Rs. 14 crores. The New Zealand player had been exceptional at World Cup 2023 which paved the way for him in the CSK line-up. However, the outcome was not convincing for the five-time former winners. With only 2 fifties this season, Mitchell could only fetch 318 runs from 13 matches this season.

4. Harshal Patel

Indian medium pacer Harshal Patel was picked for Rs. 11.75 crores by the Punjab Kings this season. His outstanding ability to bowl at the death saw him getting picked for such a handsome amount and the Indian proved himself perfectly.

Harshal picked 24 wickets from 14 matches at an economy of 9.73 which made him the highest-wicket taker for the time. Thus, the medium-pacer turned out to be a worthy buy for Punjab this season.

5. Alzari Joesph

Known for his toe-crushing and deadly yorkers at the death, Alzari Joseph was picked for a whopping Rs. 11.5 crores by the Royal Challengers Bangalore this season. However, the Caribbean player faltered miserably for the side. As Joseph contested his first three matches of the season, he leaked runs at an economy of more than 11 which sidelined him from the team. Later on, the RCB bowler sustained an injury due to which he was ruled out of the season making him a questionable purchase of the team.

6. Spencer Johnson

Australian left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson was yet another debatable buy in this year’s IPL. Picked by the Gujarat Titans for Rs. 10 crores this season, Spencer only played 5 matches for the team where he picked only four wickets. The Aussie speedster was then ruled out of the season due to a niggle as he failed to an impact for the price for which he had been picked.

7. Sameer Rizvi

CSK made an astonishing purchase by picking the uncapped Sameer Rizvi for Rs. 8.4 crores. However, the youngster couldn’t live up to the amount he was roped in for. Scoring only 51 runs from 8 matches, the Rizvi turned out to be a huge failure for the team. Rizvi’s highest score this season was 21 runs.

8. Rilee Rossouw

PBKS made another heavy investment this season in the form of Rilee Rossouw who was picked for Rs. 8 crores due to his ability to finish the matches for the team. The outcome was bittersweet for the side as the Protean left-hander did add runs on the scoreboard with fiery cameos but they weren’t enough to get the team through in the end. In 8 matches, Rossouw scored 211 runs with only one fifty to his name

9. Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan was picked by the Punjab Kings for Rs. 7.4 crores for his aggressive finishing style. However, the season turned out to be an absolute nightmare for the Indian player as he only managed to score 127 runs in 7 innings with only one fifty to his name.

10. Rovman Powell

Inaugural edition champions Rajasthan Royals hired Rovmann Powel for the finishing touches in the innings alongside his compatriot Shimron Hetmyer in the side at Rs. 7.4 crores. But the move backfired on the Royals as the Caribbean batter had a turbulent outing with the bat. Not only did Powell fail to notch fours and sixes but had a poor strike rate considering the price he was picked for. In nine matches Powell could only score 103 runs with his highest score being 27 runs