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Brandon Moyo
THE Chevrons’ fast bowling duo of Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani were not sold at the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
The Zimbabwean pacers were among the 333 players, who went under the hammer, for a chance to take part in the world’s biggest franchise cricket league.
However, there were no takers for them on a night where history was made.
Out of the 333 players who went under the hammer, 214 were Indians and 119 were overseas players, of which two were from associate nations.
Sikandar Raza will now be the only Chevrons player in the upcoming IPL after he was retained by Punjab Kings for his second stint at the club.
Muzarabani and Ngarava were hoping to join the growing list of Zimbabwean players who have played in the IPL.
Other players who have had a dance in the big tournament are Raza, Tatenda Taibu, Ray Price and former skipper Brendan Taylor.
Last season, Muzarabani joined debutants Lucknow Super Giants as a net bowler.
He came in as a replacement for England’s Mark Wood.
In Tuesday’s auction, World Cup-winning Australian seamers, Mitchell Starc and his captain, Pat Cummins made history by becoming the most expensive buys in the history of the IPL.
Starc was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for a record fee of about US$2 982 000 to become the most expensive player.
The deal came less than two hours after Cummins had set the record having been bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for US$2 470 000.
This will be Starc’s first IPL playing appearance in eight years having last played in 2015.
The fast bowler last featured in an IPL auction in 2018 and the Kolkata Knight Riders signed him but he never played that season due to injury.
Starc, Cummins, Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand), Harshal Patel (India) and Alzarri Joseph (West Indies) will be the biggest earners in next year’s IPL.
Former Chevrons skipper, Andy Flower, was named as the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a team which has the likes of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis.
The 2024 IPL is set to be played from March 23 to May 29 in India.
Online Reporter