"Kohli 17Cr. Rohit 16Cr. And Pat Cummins is sold for 20.5 Cr"- Fans and experts react as SRH break the bank for Australian captain at IPL 2024 Auction

2023 has been the year of Pat Cummins. He won the ICC World Test Championship as the captain, lifted the ICC ODI World Cup as the skipper and now he has secured the biggest deal in the Indian Premier League history.

Sunrisers Hyderabad went all out for the Australian captain and secured his services for a whopping ₹20.5 crore at the IPL 2024 Auction on December 19. Pat Cummins entered the auction in the first category of all-rounders and immediately sparked a bidding war among the IPL franchises.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad showed the highest interest in him. The Bangalore-based franchise had only ₹23.25 crore in their auction purse. Still, they went for Cummins till ₹20.25 crore. SRH finally signed him with a bid worth ₹20.50 crore.

Fans and cricket experts had mixed reactions to Cummins' signing on X. Here are some of the top reactions:

Pat Cummins will likely become the next captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL

It looks like Sunrisers Hyderabad have not only signed Pat Cummins for his all-round talent but also for his captaincy skills. Cummins has led Australia brilliantly in the recent past. SRH's head coach Daniel Vettori has observed him quite closely while working with the Australian team, and he seemed interested in working with him in the IPL as well.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra felt that Sunrisers Hyderabad were shopping for a skipper as well when they bid aggressively for Cummins. Here's what Chopra tweeted:

"Is SRH shopping for their captain??? #IPLAuction"

SRH also roped in Australia's World Cup hero Travis Head and Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga at the IPL 2024 Auction. The Hyderabad-based franchise has 22 players in their squad so far - 14 Indians and eight overseas names. It will be interesting to see who they sign next.

You can follow the IPL 2024 Auction live here.