Serving as the stepping stone to many young talents all over the world the popularity of IPL has grown year by year. Every year the fans are excited for the clash of their beloved teams in the grandest league in the world. It won’t be wrong to say that the auction is on par with the craze of IPL.
All eyes are on the fate of players, from many fresh faces becoming millionaires to many big names goings unsold. From MS-Dhoni becoming the costliest player in the inaugural edition to Ishan Kishan being recently crowned as the costliest pick for INR 15.25 crore this season. Over the years the IPL auction has seen it all. Bidding wars taking place between franchises for a player always amp up the atmosphere of the IPL.
Most expensive players in the history of IPL Auctions.
10. MS Dhoni- 9.5 Crores (2008)
Well MS Dhoni was the player who started it all in the inaugural edition of IPL. The former Indian captain had begun the climb towards the peak of his popularity, guiding the team to the 2007 T20 World Cup title. This was enough for Chennai Super Kings to bag him for 9.5 Crores which was the highest bid received for any player in the 2008 auction.
Now 15 editions later he has molded the Chennai franchise completely and played a pivotal role in winning four IPL titles. Playing over 200 matches for Men in Yellow he has amassed 4746 Runs with a strike rate of 135.83.
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 220 | 4746 | 84* | 135.83 |
9. Rashid Khan- 15 Crores (2022)
The wonder leg-spinner from Afghanistan has proved himself to be the most proficient player in the shortest format of the game, be it with the bat or ball. Having participated in different major leagues around the world he has performed exceptionally well. It came as a shock for the fans ahead of the auction after Sunrisers Hyderabad announced that they won’t be retaining the services of Rashid Khan for this season.
Rashid Khan has a brilliant track record in IPL. In 76 matches, he has bagged 93 wickets with an economy of 6.33. He bagged an IPL career-best 3/7 as he suffocated Delhi Capitals in a match of IPL 2020. Talking about his batting, he boasts a strike rate of 137 which proves his hard-hitting abilities as a batter. He found his way into the lineup of the newly formed franchise, Gujarat Titans for a whopping 15 crores
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 76 | 93 | 3/7 | 6.33 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 76 | 222 | 34* | 137.03 |
8. Hardik Pandya- 15 Crores (2022)
After more than six years of his campaign with Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya was released after a streak of underwhelming performances and constant injuries. With 1476 Runs under his belt in IPL, he was selected in the draft by Gujarat Titans for 15 Crores.
In addition to that, he has been named the captain of the Ahmedabad-based franchise. All eyes will be on him as he is in desperate need to redeem himself in terms of consistency as a batter. Pandya would also need to overcome his inability to bowl in matches and reemerge as the bowler he was earlier.
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 92 | 42 | 3/20 | 9.06 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 92 | 1476 | 91 | 153.91 |
7. Pat Cummins- 15.50 Crores (2020)
For a long time, Pat Cummins has been the best bowler in the ICC Test rankings. His outstanding performance in Test cricket earned him an IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2020. For the fast bowler, a bidding war erupted between Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He put in some respectable performances during his tenure with Kolkata Knight Riders. His economy rate is 8.23, and he’s a competent batter in the bottom of the order. In the year 2021, he had an incredible strike rate of 166.07, indicating his ability to bat well at the end. In a bidding war between Lucknow and Kolkata, he was bought back by KKR for 7.25 Cr in this year’s auction.
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 37 | 38 | 4/34 | 8.23 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 37 | 316 | 66* | 140.44 |
6. Yuvraj Singh- 16 Cr (2015)
Before announcing his retirement in 2019, Yuvraj Singh was a part of a number of franchises. Punjab Kings, Pune Warriors India, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Mumbai Indians were among the teams he represented. Formerly called Delhi Daredevils acquired him for a whopping 16 Crores at that time.
Though he wasn’t successful with the Delhi franchise that year. He scored two fifties, amassed just 248 runs, and bagged just a single scalp in that edition. Later he was released from the franchise in the following auctions.
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 132 | 36 | 4/29 | 7.43 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 132 | 2750 | 83 | 129.71 |
5. Ravindra Jadeja- 16 Cr (2022)
The left-handed all-rounder from Chennai Super Kings is now the highest-paid player for the franchise, even ahead of their captain MS Dhoni. Ravindra Jadeja is termed to be the future captain of the franchise, therefore, he was selected as the first player to be retained by the franchise.
His IPL 2021 performance was outstanding, as he struck 227 runs at an average of 75.44. With a strike rate of 145.51, CSK decided to keep him for 16 crores. His best performance in the IPL 2021 came against Harshal Patel when he scored 37 runs in a single over. His finishing skills have become more prominent, and, logically, a player of his caliber will be difficult to replace. As a result, Jadeja became one of the highest-paid players in IPL history.
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 200 | 127 | 5/16 | 7.61 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 200 | 2386 | 62* | 128.07 |
4. Rohit Sharma- 16 Crores (2022)
The current Indian limited-overs captain is one of the most expensive players this year. Rohit Sharma has been retained by the Mumbai Indians this year for a huge sum of 16 Crores. His success in bringing five trophies for the franchise has been the highlight of his career. Therefore, Mumbai would continue with him for the future expecting many more trophies around.
Talking about his batting, he has been an excellent batter up the order. He has played some major match-winning knocks in big games for the team to capitalize on. Currently, he is the third-highest run-scorer in the league with 5611 runs in 213 matches.
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 213 | 5611 | 109* | 130.39 |
3. Chris Morris-16.25 Crores (2021)
The South African all-rounder became a sensation after earning a whopping bid of 16.25 Cr by Rajasthan Royals making him the most expensive overseas player in the history of IPL. He spent a lot of time in Delhi Capitals and was later picked up by RCB in the year 2020 for a sum of 10 Crores.
He had the ability to bowl at the death and hit some lusty blows at the end with the bat. His stats speak volumes about his abilities. An impressive economy of 8.00 and a staggering batting strike rate of 155.27 made him an excellent commodity to have. Therefore, his price tag kept increasing despite his age.
Bowling-
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Economy |
| 81 | 95 | 4/23 | 8.00 |
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 81 | 618 | 82* | 155.27 |
2. Virat Kohli- 17 Crores (2018)
The former Indian captain is the highest run-getter in the history of the Indian Premier League and has been the backbone of the batting order in both India as well as RCB. He was retained by RCB ahead of the Mega Auctions in 2018 for a hefty sum of 17 Crores. This made him the highest-paid player in the history of IPL. His contributions have been significant for RCB especially his unequaled 973-run season in 2016. His stats speak volumes about his abilities. Also, he has amassed five hundred in IPL.
King Kohli has led RCB on his shoulders for eight long years but is still longing to win his maiden IPL title with the team. Meanwhile, his contributions have been instrumental in the growth of Indian Cricket and his match-winning abilities are second to none. Therefore, RCB paid a huge amount of sum to retain him because of his brand value and the experience he brings to the side.
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 207 | 6283 | 113 | 129.94 |
1. KL Rahul- 17 Crores (2022)
The new Lucknow franchise in the IPL 2022 signed KL Rahul for a fee of INR 17 crores, making the batter the joint-highest paid player in the league’s history along with Virat Kohli. His retention made him the highest-paid player even before the IPL 2022 auction.
Rahul had a salary of Rs 11 crore per season from 2018 to 2021. He earned a hefty hike of Rs 6 crore this season. While Rahul has been among the best openers in IPL since 2018, he struggled on the captaincy front as PBKS’ captain as the team couldn’t go past the league stage. While Punjab Kings is also not known for sticking to a player and grooming him for the future.
His record in the IPL has been prolific. He has amassed 3273 runs at a strike rate of 136.37. Added to his batting, he possesses quality wicketkeeping skills.
Batting-
| Matches | Runs | Best | Strike Rate |
| 94 | 3273 | 132* | 136.37 |
