Big bucks, not so big performance: From Mitchell Starc to Alzarri Joseph, assessing IPL 2024's most expensive players

Mitchell Starc was expensive in the first two matches for KKR; Harshal Patel in action for PBKS

They came in with big reputations. They attracted a combined price of INR 123.7 crores! Two of them broke the record for the most expensive player in the history of IPL Auctions. However, a little over a fortnight into the 17th edition and not even a single member of the ’10 Most Expensive Players of IPL 2024’ has had any impact on the tournament.

While Mitchell Starc, who broke the bank when he was bought for a whopping INR 24.75 crore by KKR, had a shocking start to the season, the performance of his fellow team-mate and captain of SRH – Pat Cummins, has also been below par. SRH had paid a stunning INR 20.5 crores for the services of the Australian Test captain.

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Daryl Mitchell (CSK), Harshal Patel (PBKS) and Alzarri Joseph (RCB) have all had a poor start to their campaign this season. If we grade these performances then four of the five most expensive players would slot in the lowest cluster. Three others in the top 7 have done just marginally better while still performing below expectations. Also, surprisingly, Rilee Rossouw, Rovman Powell and Shahrukh Khan are yet to represent their franchises in a single encounter – not even as Impact Players!

1. Mitchell Starc (24.75 cr – KKR)

Mitchell Starc created history becoming the most expensive player in the IPL Auctions when he was sold to KKR for INR 24.75 crore. Starc is an all-time great in ODI cricket and had the best bowling strike rate (min. 150 wickets) in the format for a number of years before being pushed back to number two by Mohammed Shami. The Australian left-arm quick played a pivotal role in Australia’s victorious campaign at home in the 2015 World Cup where he ended as the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 World Cup.

Starc has been a patch of the great limited overs’ bowler he is in IPL 2024. He had a shocking start to the tournament and was hammered for 100 runs in his 8 overs without picking a solitary wicket in the first couple of matches against SRH and RCB. Though he came back strongly against the Capitals accounting for Mitchell Marsh and David Warner in the powerplay, Starc still has an economy rate of 10.1 in the first 6 overs. The good thing for KKR is that they have won all their three encounters without their ace spearhead at his best and Starc has a reputation of cranking it up when it matters most at the business end of the tournament especially in the playoffs.

2. Pat Cummins (20.5 cr – SRH)

Pat Cummins has never been a great bowler in T20 cricket but it were his leadership qualities that made SRH splurge INR 20.5 crore on the Australian Test captain. Cummins led Australia to victory in two ICC events in 2023 – the World Test Championship and the 50-over World Cup.

Cummins has bagged five wickets while accounting for at least one batter in each of the four matches. Interestingly, he has used himself as a restrictive option in the middle overs bowling second-change in three of four matches while also coming in as a death-overs’ specialist against the Titans. While Cummins has been very restrictive with an economy rate of 7.75 (the combined economy of the rest of the SRH bowlers in 10.4), he has operated mostly in the relatively quiet 7-15 overs’ phase. Also, given what he is worth, Cummins is not expected to just control the flow of runs but produce match-defining performances – he has none to show thus far in the tournament.

SRH is also paying a high opportunity cost with Cummins in the XI (Klaasen, Markram and Head select themselves) as they are forced to bench a batter of the calibre of Glenn Phillips. And thus, it is imperative for Cummins to raise the bar not only with the ball but as skipper too – SRH, with two wins and two losses, are currently not in the top four in the points table.

3. Daryl Mitchell (14 cr – CSK)

Mitchell announced himself on the world stage with a stunning performance in the 2023 World Cup in India but has looked woefully out of sorts in the IPL this season. Mitchell has just mustered 93 runs in four matches with a high of 34. Neither has he produced the big knocks nor the cameos – the New Zealander has a strike rate of just 124 in the tournament.

4. Harshal Patel (11.75 cr – PBKS)

Harshal Patel has a repertoire of slower deliveries and is widely regarded as a death overs’ specialist in T20 cricket which is the reason the Punjab Kings shelled out INR 11.75 crore for the former RCB bowling all-rounder. However, Harshal has had a terrible start to the season and has been hammered for 118 runs in just 48 deliveries at an economy of 14.8 with just one solitary wicket in the final five overs!

5. Alzarri Joseph (11.5 cr – RCB)

Alzarri Joseph has picked a solitary wicket in three appearances for RCB while also getting tonked at 11.89 runs per over. He has failed to make any inroads with the new ball while also getting hammered in the last four overs where he has conceded 47 runs off his 22 deliveries.

6. Spencer Johnson (10 cr – GT)

With MI needing 27 off the last two overs, left-arm fast, Spencer Johnson showed character when he conceded just 8 runs while bagging two wickets especially after being hammered for a six by Tilak Varma off the first delivery of the penultimate over. Johnson was also the most restrictive bowler for the Titans in the hammering against CSK in Chennai where he had an economy of 8.75 in a 200-plus total. However, where Johnson has been disappointing is in the middle overs where he has conceded 45 runs in just four overs at an economy of 11.3

7. Sameer Rizvi (8.4 cr – CSK)

Rizvi gave a glimpse of his hard-hitting prowess smashing two towering sixes in his six-ball 14 against the Titans but was out for a golden duck in the loss against the Capitals. Rizvi rose to prominence when he blasted 455 runs at a strike rate of 189 in the inaugural season of the Uttar Pradesh T20 in 2023. His ability to clear the ropes stood out as he smashed 35 sixes in 10 matches.

Rilee Rossouw hasn’t been given a chance by Punjab Kings despite the modest returns of Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order. West Indies T20I captain and a specialist in the death overs, Rovman Powell, is yet to ply his trade for the Royals this season with his fellow West Indian team-mate, Shimron Hetmyer getting preference over him in the XI. The Titans need some fire and impetus in the lower-order but have persisted with the out-of-form Vijay Shankar with Shahrukh Khan yet to make an appearance, even as an Impact Player.

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