2023/24 BBL’s Most Expensive Player In Indian Rupees

New Zealand batter Colin Munro, South Africa wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock, England batter Alex Hales and all-rounders Tom Curran and Chris Jordan are the most expensive players of Big Bash League 2023/24. Each one of them was picked in the Platinum category of the draft.

Players belonging to the Platinum category stand a chance of earning up to A$420,000 but all of the above mentioned names won’t be available throughout the tournament because of prior commitments. As a result, they will earn around A$380,000 as their BBL 13 salary, which is equivalent to INR 2.15 crore in Indian currency.

For those wondering, there is no auction process in the BBL unlike the cash-rich Indian Premier League. While the domestic players can switch teams during the trade window, there’s a separate draft for overseas players. Comprising an enhanced salary, even the draft process had been brought into execution last year in order to attract high-profile names from around the world.

During the draft, clubs can choose players from different categories whose salary brackets are pre-decided. Clubs get to pick overseas cricketers in an order which is zeroed in by a lottery system beforehand. Akin to the now-defunct RTM (Right To Match) card in IPL mega auctions, a club can snatch an overseas player from a rival who played for them in the previous season. That being said, each team is allowed to retain only one player.

2023/24 BBL’s Most Expensive Player In Indian Rupees

Since the current salary cap is the highest in the history of the BBL, the highest earners of this season can be assumed to be the most expensive players ever. Because of most A-list Australian players’ international commitments, they are paid on a Pro Rata basis.

On the other hand, the salaries of domestic or non-contracted Australian players is not known as it is never disclosed in the public domain. However, it is speculated that Adelaide Strikers batter D’Arcy Short earns around A$260,000, which is the highest. Chris Lynn, Short’s teammate, is also among the highest-earners in spite of entering a conflict with Cricket Australia last year.

England batters Zak Crawley, James Vince and Sam Billings and pacer Jamie Overton, Pakistan pacers Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman were part of the Gold category this season. Each one of them is earning A$200,000, which is equivalent to INR 1.13 crore.

There is no hiding to the fact that BBL’s popularity has declined in the recent years due to a lack of star-studded campaigners. Chief reasons behind the same are time of the year and emergence of intense competition. With the likes of ILT20 and SA20 falling in the same time period, players are understandably skipping the BBL for monetary gains.

In stark contract to the BBL, Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc became the highest earner in IPL history after Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for INR 24.50 crore earlier this month. The opulent price is more than 10x of what the most expensive player in the BBL earns.