The Indian Premier League (IPL) mock auction was hosted by Jio Cinema on Monday to provide the franchises with an experience of what goes down inside the auction room and to practice the strategies and potential bidding madness of the official auction in Dubai. It serves a crucial purpose, allowing both franchises and viewers to familiarize themselves with the official rules and player list. Expect to see the bidding process in action, including paddle raises, time limits, and how long the auctioneer waits after a bid before selling a player. The dummy auction provides valuable insights for tomorrows high-stakes auction.IPL AUCTION TOMORROW ...!!!!pic.twitter.com/nCap5bTMGt— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 18, 2023Several formal cricketers including Suresh Raina, and Eoin Morgan were present on the occasion to represent their franchises. Interestingly, former Indian batter Suresh Raina was representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK).Who are the highest bidders of IPL mock auctionMitchell Starc became the most expensive player in the mock auction with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) securing his services for a massive price of RS 18.5 crore. South African pacer, Gerald Coetzee went to Gujarat Titans for RS 18 crore while Australias World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for RS 17.5 crore.JioCinema mock auction:Gerald Coetzee - 18cr.Pat Cummins - 17.5cr.Shardul Thakur - 14cr. pic.twitter.com/CKklXYRlSl— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 18, 2023In terms of Indian players, Shardul Thakur is the most expensive Indian cricketer, who went into Punjab Kings for a whopping sum of Rs 14 crore while the likes of Harry Brook and Wanindu Hasaranga went to the Gujarat and Chennai for RS 9.5 and 8.5 crore respectively. 333 players to go under hammerNotably, the real IPL 2024 auction will be held tomorrow, December 19th, at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Around 333 players, including 214 Indians and 119 overseas talents, will be up for grabs across 10 franchises. However, franchises have only 77 slots available. Big names like Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, and Rachin Ravindra are expected to attract intense bidding which has the potential to break records of the IPL. Earlier in 2023, Sam Curran was the highest-paid cricketer who was bagged by Punjab Kings for RS 18.5 crore. It will be interesting to see if any player goes past him this time around.
