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India (Commonwealth) _ Former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra thinks that players like Virat Kohli and Vijay Bumrah should be paid far more if players like Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc can command fees of over ₹20 crore.
The huge IPL payout that Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins received at Tuesday’s mini-auction never ceases to astound. The Australian fast bowling combination amassed a combined salary of ₹45.25 crore as the Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad lavished money on Starc and Cummins, respectively, as if there was no tomorrow. The last time SRH won a championship was seven years ago in 2016, while two-time winners KKR haven’t won an IPL trophy in nine years. Both SRH and KKR increased their bets on the two most expensive franchise in the history of the IPL and its auctions, demonstrating that desperate times call for desperate measures.
But beyond the chaos that erupted within the Coca-Cola area in Dubai, past the exhilaration and the surge of adrenaline that KKR, SRH, and their owners felt, one must wonder: Do Starc and Cummins really deserve such an absurd amount of money? Indeed, these two bowlers are among the fiercest in the world, but can their T20 records really justify a blind bidding war like the one that took place yesterday? Not in the opinion of former Indian batter Aakash Chopra.
More significantly, Chopra believes that Starc and Cummins’ asking prices are completely ludicrous considering how other contemporary greats stack up. Going into an auction now is very different from going into one six or ten years ago. According to Chopra, if the Australian duo can bring in more than 45 crore, players like Virat Kohli and Jayprit Bumrah, should they participate in the IPL auction, will instantly break all previous records.
Each ball will cost ₹7,60,000 if Mitchell Starc plays in all 14 games and bowls his allotted four overs. Remarkable. Here’s a query, though. Who is the best bowler in the world? Who is the finest bowler in the IPL? His name is Bumrah Jasprit. He is paid ₹12 crore, whereas Starc is approaching 25. That is incorrect. I’m not jealous of anyone’s wealth. I wish that everyone was well compensated, but how is this equitable?” said the former India opener on his YouTube account.
The Indian Premier League is that. How come one earns so much while the other receives so little? Being loyal is being royal. Bumrah requests that MI release him tomorrow so that he may enter his name in the auction. Otherwise, their rates would go up if Kohli tells RCB the same thing, right? Isn’t that how things ought to be? This auction market will determine that Kohli should be valued at 42 crore, or Bumrah 35 crore, if it determines that Starc is worth ₹25 crore. There is an issue if that isn’t taking place.
On Tuesday, Cummins overcame Sam Curran’s offer of ₹18.5 crore from the previous year to become the first player to ever break the ₹20-crore barrier. But Starc beat Cummins by ₹1.25 crore, and his record as the most expensive IPL player ever only stood for an hour. As a matter of fact, Yuvraj Singh and Ishan Kishan are the only two Indians in the top 10, which includes eight foreign players.
According to Chopra, a gap this size would cause players to question their own abilities, and the only way to address the “disparity” is to restrict the amount of money that international players may spend.
Capping the amount of money held for players from other countries is one way to address this. For instance, let’s say you have ₹200 crore to put up a squad, of which 1.5 or 1.75 are allocated to Indian players and the rest to international players. You will receive parity at that point, which is now nonexistent. Disparities are currently apparent, which is not good. I believe SRH considered Cummins for the captaincy. Otherwise, ₹20.50 crore is illogical. Not for someone with the least impressive IPL record.
