The 2024 season of the IPL kicked off on Friday, featuring some of the world's top cricket players

Six players were purchased for staggering amounts during the player auction for the 17th edition of the most lucrative Twenty20 league in the world.

Kolkata Knight Riders' top buy, Mitchell Starc, is the most expensive player in IPL history, with a price tag of $2.98 million. The Australian left-arm fast bowler and lower-order batsman is returning to the IPL after playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru nine years ago. Videos of Starc's training sessions with Kolkata have generated a lot of buzz on social media. He was instrumental in Australia's 50-over World Cup victory, taking 16 wickets, including three in the final against hosts India.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Pat Cummins, the Australian World Cup-winning captain, will lead the team for the first time in the IPL after being bought for $2.5 million. This is a new IPL auction record until Starc was sold shortly after. Former Australian pace bowling legend Glenn McGrath believes that the hefty price tags will not affect Cummins or Starc "even one percent". Cummins led Australia to victory in the World Test Championship finals last year, where they defeated India in the final.

Chennai Super Kings' Daryl Mitchell, the batting all-rounder, was purchased by the 2023 IPL champions for $1.6 million, just a month after his outstanding performances for New Zealand during the World Cup. Mitchell, who rose to prominence by scoring two World Cup centuries against India in the group stage and the semi-final, is part of a Super Kings squad that includes New Zealand batsman Rachin Ravindra and spinner Mitchell Santner. They will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match on Friday.

Rajasthan Royals' Rovman Powell, the hard-hitting West Indian middle-order batsman, was the first player to be sold at the auction in Dubai. Rajasthan Royals secured him for $890,000. Despite having only scored 257 runs in two previous IPL seasons, Powell has an impressive strike rate of over 144. He has also performed well for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League.

Gerald Coetzee, South Africa's leading bowler at the World Cup in India with 20 wickets in eight matches, was purchased by five-time champions Mumbai Indians for $602,000. Coetzee's tearaway speed has earned him a place in a formidable pace attack alongside Jasprit Bumrah. The 23-year-old is thrilled to "play under (Hardik Pandya) and bowl with Bumrah". He has taken 41 international wickets in all formats since his debut last year.

Medium-paced bowler Harshal Patel, who made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2012, raised eyebrows at the auction when he became the subject of a bidding war. He was eventually bought by Punjab Kings for $1.4 million, making him the most expensive Indian player. Patel had an outstanding 2021 IPL season, taking 32 of his 111 career IPL wickets. His performances earned him a spot on the Indian national team, but he has yet to establish himself as a regular member of the squad, taking 29 wickets in 25 Twenty20 matches. He was last capped on January 3, 2023, and was released by Bengaluru last year.