IPL 2024 Players’ Auction is set to be held overseas; for the first time in the history of the tournament.
The Indian Premier League 2024 Players’ Auction will take place in Dubai on December 19. News18 CricketNext has learnt that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed Dubai will host the auction ceremony of the next season of cash-rich IPL. It will be the first time that the mega ceremony will not be held in India since the inception of the league in 2008.
It is going to be a mini-auction but several big players will go under the hammer who missed the last season and a few might also get released by the IPL franchises as they have to submit a retention list in the coming days.
Premier Australia paceman Mitchell Starc is expected to make a comeback in the cash-rich tournament after 8 years. Starc’s national team skipper Pat Cummins is also likely to put his name in the auction after skipping the last season. The other key players at the auction will be Travis Head, Chris Woakes, Alex Hales, and Gerald Coetzee.
Meanwhile, the trading window of IPL is active as Mumbai Indians have made the first move by signing Romario Shepherd from Lucknow Super Giants.
“Romario Shepherd has been traded to Mumbai Indians (MI) from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during the ongoing TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) trading window ahead of the TATA IPL 2024. Shepherd, who has played 4 IPL matches, representing LSG and Sunrisers Hyderabad, was traded to MI for his existing fee of INR 50 Lakh,” the IPL said in a statement.
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Mumbai Indians are set to be the third franchise Shepherd represents in the IPL after Sunrisers Hyderabad (2022) and Lucknow Super Giants (2023).
The 28-year-old Guyanese star had made his international bow for West Indies in 2018. A T20 specialist, Romario has impressive numbers in the T20 circuit with 109 wickets in 99 games and a strike rate of over 150.
Mumbai Indians finished in fourth place in the IPL 2023 season, beating Lucknow Super Giants, in the Eliminator, but they were beaten by Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 2.