Former South African batsman AB de Villiers believes that the IPL is getting bigger, better and stronger every year. AB de Villiers is also happy that the IPL 2024 auction has broken previous records and offered expensive deals to many players.
The IPL 2024 auction took place on Tuesday, December 19. A total of 72 players were purchased during the auction. Among them were 30 foreign players. The 10 franchises spent more than Rs. 230 crore during the auction.
Mitchell Starc became the highest pick in the IPL auction after fetching Rs. 24.75 Crore Offer from Kolkata Knight Riders. Sunrisers Hyderabad picked Pat Cummins for Rs. 20.50 crores and also broke previous records in the IPL auction.
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Every year, IPL gets bigger, better and stronger: AB de Villiers
During a talk at Jio Cinema, AB de Villiers said he was happy for the players who got amazing deals during the IPL 2024 auction.
“Absolutely incredible. I think we are all amazed. I think the trick is that if you win the World Cup, things like this happen. You can only be happy for the boys. It is just incredible and shows the power of this tournament and where it is going,” said AB de Villiers.
He also said that the Indian Premier League is getting bigger, better and stronger every year.
“Every year it gets bigger, better and stronger. Happy for those two, those stalwarts know what to do with the ball in their hands. As we mentioned before, bowlers were going to be a hot property and we were not disappointed at all,” the former RCB player added.
AB de Villiers is a prominent figure in the Indian Premier League. He was a part of the tournament since the debut edition in 2008. He represented Royal Challengers Bangalore for many seasons and also achieved many batting records in the tournament.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought 8 players during the IPL 2024 auction. Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Curran, Saurav Chuahan and Swapnil Singh were the 6 players chosen by the three-time runners-up.
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CSK bought Daryl Mitchell for Rs. 14 crores
Meanwhile, another expensive player bought during the auction was Daryl Mitchell, picked by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 14 crores. Punjab Kings bought pacer Harshal Patel for Rs. 11.75 crores and Alzarri Joseph was captured by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 11.50 crores.
Debutant Spencer Johnson was another player who caught the eye after bagging a deal of Rs. 10 million rupees. Rilee Rossouw (Rs 8 crore), Shahrukh Khan (Rs 7.4 crore) and Rovman Powell (Rs 7.4 crore) were other expensive picks during the auction.
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Indian uncapped player Sameer Rizvi earned Rs. Chennai Super Kings’ Rs 8.40 crore deal was another highlight in the IPL 2024 auction. A total of 333 players had registered for the IPL 2024 auction for 77 available slots. However, after the auction only 72 places were filled.