'Pretty special night for us as a family' - Daryl Mitchell after bagging handsome deal in IPL 2024 auction

New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell has opened up about his feelings on watching the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction held in Dubai on December 19. He was brought by five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a whopping INR 14 crore. Notably, he earned the bid following a brilliant campaign in the recently concluded ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India. The 32-year-old finished as New Zealand's second-highest run-scorer with 552 runs in ten games at an average of 69.00.

Mitchell had previously taken part in the IPL when Rajasthan Royals (RR)  picked him up for his base price of INR 75 Lakh in 2022. However, the 32-year-old, who played in only two games, was released and then went unsold in the 2023 edition.

"It was obviously a pretty special night for us as a family, sitting here with my wife watching the whole auction. To see your name come up and then to go through that whole experience is definitely something that will stick with us for the rest of our lives," Mitchell was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"Your heart starts to pump a little bit, as you see the paddles going up. But having been through the auction before and going unsold, it was a pretty special night last night to experience that," he added.

"She [his daughter] has got a pretty good present, waking up to that - not that she understands what's going on. But that's the whole thing about these sorts of situations - it helps set up your family in many ways so that they can grow up and enjoy the things they love. For me, that's the really cool thing about it. They're the ones that are the reason why you do all this," he concluded.

Mitchell entered the bidding with a modest base price of INR 1 Crore, sparking an initial war between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). As DC withdrew from the bidding, CSK swiftly joined the fray with a bid of INR 12 Crore. Despite PBKS persistently pushing the bid to INR 13.75 Crore, CSK seized the opportunity at the last moment, elevating the bid to 14 Crore just before the hammer fell.