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The Legends League Cricket (LLC) 2024 auction took place in New Delhi on Thursday (August 29). Six franchises—Manipal Tigers, India Capitals, Konark Suryas Odisha, Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Southern Superstars and Gujarat Giants—participated in the auction.
The third season is scheduled to be played from September 20 to October 16, 2024, in Surat, Jodhpur, Jammu and Srinagar.
More than 200 players were available in the auction pool, with each of the six teams having a maximum of ₹8 crore purse. However, only 97 of them were eventually purchased by the franchises.
Interestingly, 12 players were retained by the franchises, including Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan and Chris Gayle. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik were pre-signed by the Southern Superstars and Gujarat Giants, respectively.
On that note, let's take a look at the most expensive buys in the LLC 2024 auction.
#5 Dhawal Kulkarni: ₹ 50 lakh
The India Capitals bagged Dhawal Kulkarni for ₹50 lakh, making him the most expensive Indian player in the auction. Kulkarni has a plethora of experience across all formats, with over 90 IPL appearances and 14 international games.
In 162 T20s, the right-arm pacer has scalped 154 wickets at an economy of 7.88 and best figures of 4/14. He recently picked up eight wickets in six games for the India Legends in the World Championship of Legends 2024.
#4 Ross Taylor: ₹ 50.34 lakh
The former New Zealand batter, Ross Taylor, was snapped up by Konark Suryas Odisha for a price of ₹ 50.34 lakh. Taylor has 450 international appearances and amassed over 18,000 runs with 40 centuries and 93 fifties.
The right-hander accumulated over 6,500 runs in 298 T20s while hitting a solitary century and 33 fifties. In the last season, he contributed 52 runs in four innings at a strike rate of around 110.
#3 Dan Christian: ₹ 56.95 lakhs
The flamboyant all-rounder, Dan Christian will play for the Manipal Tigers in the LLC 2024. During his 409-game T20 career, Christian smashed 5,825 runs and picked 280 wickets.
In the recently concluded World Championship of Legends, he emerged as Australia's finest performer with 215 runs and five wickets in six games. A good reason to be on third in this list is due to his quick-fire knocks of 99 and 69 in the tournament.
#2 Chadwick Walton: ₹ 60 lakhs
The West Indies batter, Chadwick Walton, is second on the ranking after Urbanrisers Hyderabad bought him up for ₹ 60 lakhs. The high price tag was due to his experience and current form in the shortest format. Walton has scored over 3,500 runs in 179 T20 innings, with 15 fifties to his name.
Moreover, he is coming into this series by scoring 181 runs at an average of 45.25 and an explosive strike rate of 181.00 for the West Indies in the World Championship of Legends. In the last LLC season, Walton slammed 216 runs at a prolific strike rate of 170.07.
#1 Isuru Udana: ₹ 62 lakhs
The consistent wicket-taker in T20s with his slower balls and other variations, Isuru Udana is the most expensive acquisition in the LLC 2024 auction with an amount of ₹ 62 lakhs by Urbanrisers Hyderabad.
Udana announced his international retirement in 2021 but is still active in franchise cricket. He recently participated in tournaments like MAX60 Caribbean and Lanka Premier League (LPL).
In LPL 2024, he represented Galle Marvels and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps in 10 appearances. Meanwhile, he was also impressive in the LLC 2023, emerging as the joint-highest wicket-taker with nine dismissals in six outings.
