Harry Brook's IPL value drops as Pat Cummins hits the jackpot

The 24-year-old began his first IPL season with Sunrisers Hyderabad but will now make the switch to Delhi and was the second player to be auctioned behind West Indies batter Rovman Powell.

Last year, Sunrisers paid over £1.3million for Brook but he scored just 190 runs in 11 matches in the 2023 season.

Travis Head, whose brilliant 137 helped Australia win the 50-over World Cup final against host nation India last month, was signed by Sunrisers for 6.8 crore Indian rupees (around £645,000) in the mini auction. The 29-year-old left-handed batter returns to the IPL for the first time since 2017, when he played 10 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Australia captain Pat Cummins became the most expensive player in IPL history after being signed by Sunrisers for 20.5 crore Indian rupees (around £1.945m).

Cummins sat out the 2023 tournament to focus on international cricket but became even hotter property after leading his side to the World Test Championship and last month’s 50-over World Cup on Indian soil.

Four teams vied for the fast bowler’s signature and Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up paying 20.5 crore rupees, eclipsing the previous high of 18.5 crore (£1.77m) Punjab Kings paid for English all-rounder Sam Curran last year. Cummins, 30, had entered with a base price of just under £200,000 and saw the bidding war up his fee by a factor of 10.

Sunrisers had plenty of budget to play with having released Brook after one season of his £1.3m deal.

Cummins joins international team-mate Head at Hyderabad, the 30-year-old fast bowler having played 42 matches in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals. West Indies T20 captain Powell fetched a surprisingly lavish £700,000 bid from Rajasthan Royals, while New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell went to Chennai Super Kings for £1.3m.