IPL 2020 Auction: Pat Cummins becomes most expensive foreign buy in India's T20 league history

Pat Cummins scripted history on Thursday when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought him for a whopping price of INR 15.5 crore. The Aussie pacer became the most expensive overseas player in the history of IPL.

Cummins broke Ben Stokes' record bid of INR 14.5 crore at the IPL 2017 auctions. His base price was INR 2 crore, this auction's highest bracket that also included the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Dale Steyn, and Angelo Mathews.

Cummins, who is World No. 23 in the ICC T20I bowling rankings, last played for KKR in 2015 before he moved to Delhi Capitals in 2017, which was his last IPL season. In the last few years, Cummins has conquered his injury woes and has become Australia's spearhead, especially in the Test format. Earlier this year, he also moved to the top spot of Test bowling rankings.

Meanwhile, his compatriot Maxwell also had a great payday on Thursday. The star all-rounder, who is coming from a break due to mental health issues, also bagged a big contract. After a fierce bidding war between Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and DC, Maxwell returned to his former team - KXIP, who purchased him for a price of INR 10.75 crore.

Maxwell, who is set to captain Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League's upcoming edition, earlier played for Kings XI from 2014-17 and has also represented Delhi and Mumbai Indians.

Other than these two, two more Aussie cricketers bag decent contracts. Australian limited-overs skipper, Aaron Finch was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for INR 4.40 crore. The World No. 2 T20I batsman will play under the leadership of the World No. 1 Test and ODI batsman, Virat Kohli and RCB, who are yet to win the IPL, will hope to turn tables around next year.

Brisbane Heat explosive opener Chris Lynn was the first player to bag a contract on Thursday when Mumbai Indians (MI) secured him for INR 200 Lakhs.

World Cup-winning England captain, Eoin Morgan was roped in by KKR, while his countrymen Jason Roy and Chris Woakes went to Delhi.