Jake Fraser-McGurk has been retained by the Delhi Capitals for ₹9 crore at the IPL mega auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Australian opener was initially pursued aggressively by Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). PBKS appeared to have secured his services, but the Delhi Capitals exercised its Right to Match card to retain their former player.

Fraser-McGurk, 22, had been released by the Capitals ahead of this year’s auction after an impressive debut season in 2024, where he scored 330 runs at an explosive strike rate of 234.

This year, he also made his ODI and T20I debuts for Australia and has become a consistent performer in T20 franchise leagues, amassing 1,169 runs at a strike rate of 152.41.

Earlier in the auction, Shreyas Iyer set a new record as the most expensive IPL player when Punjab Kings secured him for ₹26.75 crore ($4.87 million), surpassing the previous record set by Mitchell Starc last year. However, the record was broken again in a dramatic turn of events when Rishabh Pant went under the hammer.

Starc, Fraser-McGurk’s compatriot, was among the first players auctioned this year, joining the Delhi Capitals for ₹11.75 crore ($2.14 million).

This figure is less than half of the ₹24.75 crore he fetched last year, which at the time had made him the most expensive player in IPL history.