Mitchell Starc took the cricketing world by storm with his whopping price tag at the IPL 2024 auction, held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday (December 19).

Having played a key role in Australia’s World Cup 2023 triumph, the left-arm pacer was always going to be a big attraction at the auction.

After an intense bidding war, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) managed to secure his services for a hefty sum of INR 24.75 Crore, making him the most expensive buy in the history of IPL auctions.

While Starc was in Australia when the auction was taking place in Dubai, his wife Alyssa Healy was following the event closely from India.

Notably, Healy is currently in India with the Australian women’s team for an all-format tour. A day after the auction, the Australian women’s team skipper revealed that she was in the gym when her husband’s bid came up.

“Look, it is what it is,” Healy told the media ahead of Australia Women’s training session at the Wankhede Stadium.

In the last few years, Mitchell Starc didn’t throw his hat into the auction ring as national duty and managing workload was his top priority.

Healy said Starc’s price tag is a great justification for his choice to put the country first over the years.

“It is an amazing moment for Mitch, it is a great justification for the hard work he has put in and (for) probably some of the choices he has made over the last eight years to put his country first,” she stated.

A picture of Alyssa Healy drinking a glass of beer emerged on social media after Starc bagged a historic deal at the auction.

However, Healy denied having beer and said, “I was in the gym. I wasn’t thinking of beers as according to social media. I was actually in the gym working hard, watching it all unfold. But yeah, an amazing day for him and Pat (Cummins)."