Aussies abroad: Who's going to the IPL in 2024

Australia's ODI World Cup-winning skipper Pat Cummins has been named captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the upcoming Indian Premier League season.

Cummins was snapped up by the Hyderabad outfit in December's auction for a then-record A$3.67m (which was later broken by Mitchell Starc) after the fast bowler sat out the 2023 edition.

The Australian replaces South Africa's Aiden Markram in the role who oversaw the side's bottom-of-the-table finish last year. Markram remains in the squad.

Cummins is yet to captain any team in a professional T20 match and this new job could be seen as an audition for the Australian job ahead of June's T20 World Cup.

National selectors are yet to commit to naming who will lead Australia at the tournament and Mitch Marsh is currently the frontrunner having skippered the Aussies in their recent series victories against West Indies and New Zealand.

Cummins is one of 15 Australians signed up to an IPL team so far with nine of those members of the squad that won the ultimate one-day success in India late last year.  

Daniel Vettori, who worked closely with Cummins at the ODI World Cup as assistant coach of Australia, has been named the Sunrisers' head coach for the upcoming tournament, replacing Brian Lara.

The Aussies at IPL 2024

Jake Fraser-McGurk – Delhi Capitals (A$92,000)

Although not picked up in the auction, the Fraser-McGurk lands a spot in Ricky Ponting's Capitals roster as a replacement player for South Africa quick Lungi Ngidi (back injury). Fraser-McGurk will join fellow Aussies David Warner, Mitch Marsh and Jhye Richardson at the club and will be a strong chance to play following Harry Brook's withdrawal due to personal reasons. The young dynamo was signed for his base price of 50 lakh (A$92,000) but a strong tournament would see him worth a lot more at future auctions. 

Pat Cummins – Sunrisers Hyderabad (A$3.67m)

Cummins is the Sunrisers' big-dollar recruit and will captain the side in 2024. Since first appearing in 2014, Cummins has played 42 IPL matches for 45 wickets but perhaps his most memorable moment in the league was his 14-ball fifty for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022.

Tim David – Mumbai Indians (A$1.53m)

It's no surprise that Mumbai were desperate to hold onto the talents of David who is a genuine globe-trotting superstar. While he couldn't match his ridiculous 2022 IPL strike rate of 216.28, he still struck at a very solid 158.22 in 2023 and his importance to the Indians was underlined by the fact he played every match in the tournament.

Nathan Ellis – Punjab Kings (A$135,000)

Ellis will represent the Kings for a fourth-straight year after becoming a regular in the Punjab XI in 2023. The Australian international continues to enhance his reputation as one of the most reliable death bowlers in the world and will be keen for a strong IPL to cement his spot in Australia's T20 World Cup squad.

Cameron Green – Royal Challengers Bangalore (A$3.15m)

After being bought by the Mumbai Indians in 2022, Green was traded to RCB as Mumbai looked to find a way to bring allrounder Hardik Pandya into their squad.

Green enjoyed a fine debut IPL season, batting primarily at No.3 and even smashing a century against Sunrisers off 47 balls.

Travis Head – Sunrisers Hyderabad (A$1.2m)

Head's stunning 2023 earned the dashing left-hander his first IPL contract since 2017, when he had a few hits for RCB. But no doubt Head's starring ODI World Cup campaign, which included a century in the final against host nation India, helped get him over the line as he landed a seven-figure contract.

Spencer Johnson – Gujarat Titans (A$1.78m)

Australia's newest pace sensation scored a massive IPL windfall as the Gujarat Titans forked out almost two million Australian dollars at the latest auction for his services. Although his first professional T20 match was only in January 2023, Johnson has already won titles with the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred and the Brisbane Heat in the KFC BBL.

Mitch Marsh – Delhi Capitals (A$1.2m)

Marsh had a difficult 2023 IPL with the Capitals, featuring in only nine matches and averaging 14.22 (strike rate 131.96) from his preferred No.3 position. But from that point in time his 2023 improved dramatically, returning to the Australian Test side and playing a key role in Australia's ODI World Cup win. His bowling was a surprise success in the last IPL campaign however, capturing 12 wickets in only eight innings.

Glenn Maxwell – Royal Challengers Bangalore (A$2m)

The match-winning Maxwell will front up for his 12th IPL campaign and fourth-straight with RCB. Maxwell passed 50 on five occasions in 2023 but was used sparingly with the ball as he recovered from a broken leg.

Jhye Richardson – Delhi Capitals (A$890,000)

Richardson is in a race against time to be fit for the upcoming IPL after missing the second half of the Australian summer with a side strain.

The luckless Richardson was set to play for Mumbai Indians last summer but had to miss the tournament to get surgery on his hamstring. The only time Richardson has featured in the IPL were three matches for Punjab Kings in 2021, after he was purchased at the preceding auction for a massive A$2.48m.

Mitchell Starc – Kolkata Knight Riders (A$4.43m)

The Australia spearhead returns to the IPL for the first time since 2015 and his auction price of A$4.43m broke the record for the biggest payday in the tournament's history. Starc has 27 matches for RCB to his name but was snapped up by KKR who had to go all out to beat Gujarat Titans in a bidding war.

Marcus Stoinis – Lucknow Super Giants (A$1.7m)

Stoinis ventured to Lucknow last season for the first time and had a fairly productive tournament with the bat, playing 15 matches and going at a strike rate of 150. He will link up with former Australia coach Justin Langer, who has taken the reins of the Super Giants for 2024.

Ashton Turner – Lucknow Super Giants (A$178,000)

Turner also joins the Super Giants after being picked up by Langer in the auction. The Perth Scorchers skipper is on the comeback from knee surgery and will be hoping he's fit to go ahead for his first appearance at the IPL since 2019.

Matthew Wade – Gujarat Titans (A$446,000)

A title-winner with the Titans in 2022, Wade returns to the franchise after not featuring at all last season. Wade will be eager for a big tournament in the lead-in to the T20 World Cup with Josh Inglis hot on his heels an vying for Wade's spot in the Australia line-up.  

David Warner – Delhi Capitals (A$1.16m)

One of the greatest IPL players of all time, Warner is back for his 14th season and showing no signs of slowing down. Although he was released from his contract at Sunrisers Hyderabad a few years ago, Warner has found a new home at Delhi under head coach Ricky Ponting and off the back of a strong World Cup in India, Warner proved he can still deliver against the best.

Withdrawn players

Jason Behrendorff (Mumbai Indians, A$135,000): The tall left-armer from WA withdrew from the tournament on March 19 after breaking his leg while batting in the nets at training and was replaced in the Indians squad by Englishman Luke Wood. After playing a handful of matches for Mumbai in 2019, Behrendorff returned to the franchise in 2023 and had a strong campaign with 14 wickets in 12 matches. The injury is a major blow to his chances of forcing his way into Australia's T20 World Cup calculations.

Adam Zampa (Rajasthan Royals, A$270,000): Australia premier white-ball spinner withdrew from the tournament on March 21 for personal reasons ahead of a busy international schedule that includes the T20 World Cup in June. He was due to return to the Royals for a second straight season where he played six games last year but had to compete for a spot with Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. He was replaced by local player Tanush Kotian.