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The IPL 2024 auction took place on December 19 in Dubai. Record bids were made for the likes of Pat Cummins (₹20.50 crore to the SunRisers Hyderabad) and Mitchell Starc (₹24.74 crore to the Kolkata Knight Riders).
Uncapped Indians like Shahrukh Khan and Sameer Rizvi also bagged huge sums after being snapped up by the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings, respectively. While all these players deserved to be picked up in the IPL 2024 auction, some players were lucky to find new IPL teams.
Here are five players lucky to be picked in the IPL 2024 auction, including Shai Hope.
#5 Shashank Singh - Punjab Kings
Shashank Singh was the luckiest player to be bought in the IPL 2024 auction, as he was bought by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by mistake. The Preity Zinta-co-owned franchise mistook the 32-year-old Shashank Singh to be the 19-year-old batter with the same name.
Thus, it was an unintentional acquisition by PBKS. As the hammer went down, the auctioneer, Mallika Sagar, did not allow the franchise to reverse their bid. The all-rounder from Chhattisgarh has previously played for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL.
#4 Nandre Burger - Rajasthan Royals
Nandre Burger was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for his base price of ₹50 lakh. There's a lot of recency bias when it comes to a player like Burger getting picked at the IPL 2024 auction, as he has barely played any international cricket for South Africa.
Burger's numbers in T20s are good, with an economy rate of 7.4 and a strike rate of 17.3. However, there is a huge difference between the IPL and other T20 leagues. A more experienced campaigner like Mustafizur Rahman would have been a better backup to Trent Boult for RR.
#3 David Willey - Lucknow Super Giants
David Willey is a popular cricketer when it comes to franchise T20 leagues. However, the 33-year-old has never been impressive in the IPL, having already played for the likes of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought him to act as a backup for Marcus Stoinis, but his numbers don't warrant his selection. He's only picked up six wickets in 11 matches at an average of 45.33 and a strike rate of 36. His IPL career batting strike rate is 85.48.
#2 Tom Curran - Royal Challengers Bangalore
Tom Curran was snapped up by RCB at his ₹2 crore base price. Curran is mostly going to act as a backup to Cameron Green, as he is also an overseas fast-bowling all-rounder. However, his record in the IPL has been abysmal.
Curran has picked up 13 wickets in as many games, albeit at an economy rate of 10.84 and an average of 33.08. His only vital contribution with the bat came in IPL 2020 when he scored an unbeaten 54 for Delhi. Considering RCB's weak pace attack, they should have bought someone with more pedigree.
#1 Shai Hope - Delhi Capitals
Shai Hope is very lucky to be picked up in the IPL 2024 auction by the Delhi Capitals (DC). They already have a bunch of Indian wicketkeepers like Kumar Kushagra, Abhishek Porel, and Ricky Bhui who will fill in for Pant behind the stumps in the upcoming season.
The Capitals also bought Tristan Stubbs in the auction, who is more suited to T20 cricket than Shai Hope, in case they need to play an overseas wicketkeeper-batter. Shai Hope is an ODI specialist who usually likes to build his innings. Releasing a player like Phil Salt and buying Hope doesn't make any sense.
