Black Cap's crazy IPL contract

Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra and Lockie Ferguson are each set to earn more in one IPL match next season than they would for playing a test for the Black Caps.

Mitchell struck it rich with a big contract with the Chennai Super Kings overnight at the Indian Premier League auction, being picked up for 14 crore ($2.69 million). He would earn 18 times more playing one IPL match than he would a test.

Fellow Black Caps star Ravindra, who rose to stardom at the Cricket World Cup in India, was also taken by the Super Kings for 1.8 crore. The Stephen Fleming-coached franchise are the defending champions and already have Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner in the squad. The Super Kings are captained by Indian great MS Dhoni.

Ferguson was the only other Kiwi sold at the auction overnight, going to Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2 crore.

The IPL season in 2024 is yet to be confirmed but the start and finish dates are thought to be March 23 and May 29, a total of 67 days. If that is correct, Mitchell is set to earn $40,149 every 24 hours, Ravindra $5164 and Ferguson $5194.

Black Caps reportedly earn around $10,250 per test but the trio are set to bag an eye-watering total for each of the 14 IPL matches – Mitchell $192,142 per game, Ravindra $24,714 and Ferguson $24,857.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Mitchell said Chennai was “a wonderful franchise” and he was looking forward to playing next year.

“Also really excited to play with Devon Conway and Mitch Santer and Rachin Ravindra as well as fellow Kiwis and also to learn of MS and play under Flem and experience what it’s like to be in the Chennai changing room.”

Mitchell’s contract is the second-highest bid put on a New Zealander in tournament history, behind Kyle Jamieson in 2021 ($2.86m).

Mitchell made his Twenty20 debut for New Zealand in 2019 and has been a key member of the Black Caps across all three formats. He rose to prominence on the international stage with a match-winning 72 from 47 balls in the 2021 T20 World Cup semifinal win over England, which booked the Black Caps a spot in the final. The 32-year-old was also one of the standout batters at the ODI World Cup in India this year, finishing with 552 runs and two centuries - including an impressive 134 in the semifinal defeat to India when the Black Caps were chasing 398 to win.

Australian left-arm pace bowler Mitchell Starc went for the highest figure of the night at a whopping 24.75 crore, topping the record figure paid for Australia teammate Pat Cummins at the competition’s auction a few hours earlier.

Starc - who was last in the IPL eight years ago - was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders. That beat the fee paid by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Cummins, who went for nearly $3.99m.

Before this auction, the record signing was England bowler Sam Curran after he joined Punjab Kings for $3.56m last year.

It capped a spectacular year for Starc and Cummins, who are coming off winning the Cricket World Cup with Australia last month in the tournament in India.

Cummins and Starc also play in Australia’s test team, who won the World Test Championship final in June before retaining the Ashes after a 2-2 draw in the series with England.

Black Caps Ish Sodhi, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne all went unsold, as did the likes of World Cup winners Steve Smith, Josh Hazlewood and Josh Inglis.

Black Caps in the 2024 IPL
Kane Williamson (Gujarat Titans), Devon Conway (Chennai Super Kings), Mitchell Santner (Chennai Super Kings), Daryl Mitchell (Chennai Super Kings), Rachin Ravindra (Chennai Super Kings), Trent Boult (Rajasthan Royals) and Glenn Phillips (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Lockie Ferguson (Royal Challengers Bangalore).

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission