Most Expensive Players in IPL: Here is the list of the Most Expensive Players In The History of IPL since 2008. The Indian Premier League is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining domestic cricket leagues in the world. The top players from around the globe participate in the IPL.
Most Expensive Players in IPL History – Top 10
The basic bid price of the player increases every year owing to that particular player’s playing history from the past year. Due to the player’s need for a particular team, the franchises start to get into a fight with the auction.
In that order here is the list of the highest-bid players in every IPL season. Following are the details of the Most Expensive Players in IPL Since 2008:
| Player | Team | Price | Season |
| Mitchell Starc | Kolkata Knight Riders | INR 24.75 Cr | IPL 2024 |
| Pat Cummins | Sunrisers Hyderabad | INR 20.50 Cr | IPL 2024 |
| Sam Curran | Punjab Kings | INR 18.50 Cr | IPL 2023 |
| Cameron Green | Mumbai Indians | INR 17.50 Cr | IPL 2023 |
| Ben Stokes | Chennai Super Kings | INR 16.35 Cr | IPL 2023 |
| Chris Morris | Rajasthan Royals | INR 16.25 Cr | IPL 2021 |
| Nicholas Pooran | Lucknow Super Giants | INR 16.00 Cr | IPL 2022 |
| Yuvraj Singh | Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals now) | INR 16.00 Cr | IPL 2015 |
| Pat Cummins | Kolkata Knight Riders | INR 15.50 Cr | IPL 2020 |
| Ishan Kishan | Mumbai Indians | INR 15.25 Cr | IPL 2022 |
| Kyle Jamieson | Royal Challengers Bangalore | INR 15.00 Cr | IPL 2021 |
| Ben Stokes | Rising Pune Supergiant | INR 14.50 Cr | IPL 2017 |
*Season indicates the IPL Auction. EX: IPL 2023 indicates IPL 2023 Auction
Most Expensive Players in IPL – Year Wise
Teams who are all participating in the IPL auction will try to rope the best players who can lead their team to lift the IPL trophy. Teams will literally get into a bidding war to rope the best player which shifts the player’s final price to a far position than their actual price.
Following are the details of the Most Expensive Players in IPL – Year Wise with their Auction price and team details.
| Year | Player | Price | Team |
| IPL 2024 | Mitchell Starc | INR 24.75 crore | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| IPL 2023 | Sam Curran | INR 18.50 crore | Punjab King |
| IPL 2022 | Ishan Kishan | INR 15.25 crores | Mumbai Indians |
| IPL 2021 | Chris Moris | INR 16.25 crore | Rajasthan Royals |
| IPL 2020 | Pat Cummins | INR 15.5 crore | Kolkata Knight Riders |
|
IPL 2019
|
Varun Chakravarthy | INR 8.40 crore | Kings XI Punjab |
| Jaydev Unadkat | INR 8.40crore | Rajasthan Royals | |
| IPL 2018 | Ben Stokes | INR 12.50 crore | Rajasthan Royals |
| IPL 2017 | Ben Stokes | INR 14.50 crore | Rising Pune Supergiant |
| IPL 2016 | Shane Watson | INR 9.50 crore | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| IPL 2015 | Yuvraj Singh | INR 16.00 crore | Delhi Daredevils |
| IPL 2014 | Yuvraj Singh | INR 14.00 crore | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| IPL 2013 | Glenn Maxwell | USD 1.00 million | Mumbai Indians |
| IPL 2012 | Ravindra Jadeja | USD 2.00 million | Chennai Super Kings |
| IPL 2011 | Gautam Gambhir | USD 2.40 million | Kolkata Knight Riders |
|
IPL 2010
|
Kieron Pollard | USD 0.75 million | Mumbai Indians |
| Shane Bond | USD 0.75 million | Kolkata Knight Riders | |
|
IPL 2009
|
Kevin Pietersen | USD 1.55 million | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| Andrew Flintoff | USD 1.55 million | Chennai Super Kings | |
| IPL 2008 | MS Dhoni | USD 1.50 million | Chennai Super Kings |
IPL 2024
Mitchell Starc(Kolkata Knight Riders)
- Auction Price: INR 24.75 crore
Australian speedster becomes the most expensive player in the IPL 2024 Auction after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) roped him in for an astronomical sum of Rs 24.75 crore.
Starc last played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) back in 2016 but has taken 34 wickets from 27 games in his brief career in the franchise T20 league. KKR had to ward off competition from the Delhi Capitals (DC), Gujarat Titans (GT), and Mumbai Indians (MI) amongst others to seal this deal.
IPL 2023
Sam Curran(Punjab Kings)
- Auction Price: INR 18.50 crore
England all-rounder Sam Curran becomes the most expensive player in IPL 2023 Auction after fetching a whooping INR 18.50 crore bid from Punjab Kings.
Sam Curran becomes a sensation in IPL 2023 Auction after his record for best T20I figures 5–10 against Afghanistan in 2022. Sam Curran was part of the England team that won the 2022 T20 World Cup, taking the most wickets for England at the tournament and was named Player of the Tournament.
Notably, Sam Curran was one of the ex-Punjab Kings players in IPL. In December 2018, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab(now named Punjab Kings) in the player auction for the 2019 Indian Premier League for 7.20 crore Rupees.
Though he shines with both bat and ball, PBKS released him ahead of IPL 2020 auction where he was brought by CSK for INR 5.50 crore.
IPL 2022
Ishan Kishan(Mumbai Indians)
- Auction Price: INR 15.25 crores
Ishan Kishan becomes the most expensive player of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Indian wicket-keeper Batsman Ishan Kishan bags the highest bid on the first day of the 2 days IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
Mumbai Indians battled with SRH and won their former player back to the team for INR 15.25 crores. Kishan became the second most expensive Indian player in the history of IPL after Yuvraj Singh.
IPL 2021
Chris Moris(Rajasthan Royals)
- Auction Price: INR 16.25 Crore
Chris Moris becomes the most expensive player to sold in IPL 2021 by beating Pat Cummins. In the IPL 2020, Pat Cummins becomes the most expensive player to bid by beating Yuvraj Singh.
Chris Moris has been roped in by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping amount of 16.25 crores.
IPL 2020
Pat Cummins (Kolkata Knight Riders)
- Auction Price: ₹15.5 crore
Pat Cummins became the most expensive overseas player in Indian Premier League history on Thursday when the Australian was bought at auction by the Kolkata Knight Riders for 15.5 crores ($2.1 million).
IPL 2019
Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals) and Varun Chakravarthy (Kings XI Punjab)
- Auction Price: INR 8.4 crore
Jaydev Unadkat once again shocked fans with the huge money Rajasthan paid for his services. The Gujarat-born pacer let down the Royals yet again. He could not justify his high price tag as he claimed just 10 wickets in 11 matches at a poor economy rate of 10.66.
Varun Chakravarthy, who was not well-known earlier, got a surprise bid of ₹8.4 from the Kings XI Punjab. The Karnataka-born all-rounder failed to make an impact and played just 1 match for the Punjab-based franchise in which he clinched 1 wicket at an economy rate of 11.66.
IPL 2018
Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals)
- Auction Price: INR 12.50 crore
Ben Stokes made it two on two in season 11, changing his colours to blue and gold after the Pune franchise was disbanded and CSK and RR returned to the scheme of things. Stokes was understandably headed towards big bucks, having earned the MVP title, the previous season. However, he had a lukewarm showing, with 196 runs from 13 matches and eight wickets.
IPL 2017
Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiant)
- Auction Price: INR 14.5 crore
English all-rounder Ben Stokes justified his high price tag and did well in his debut IPL season. The 28-year-old provides the X-factor for whatever team he plays for.
Stokes amassed 316 runs in 12 matches at a phenomenal strike rate of 142.98 and an average of 31.60. The match-winning 103 off 63 balls against the Gujarat Lions was undoubtedly his most memorable knock of the season.
He was also potent with the ball and made 12 scalps in as many matches at an economy rate of 7.18, returning with the best figures of 3/18.
Rising Pune Supergiant reached the final of IPL 2017 and Ben played a crucial role in their splendid run. They fell agonizingly short of winning the title as they lost to Mumbai Indians by 1 run in the summit clash.
IPL 2016
Shane Watson (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Auction Price: INR 9.5 crore
After Rajasthan Royals was suspended for two seasons, Shane Watson got drafted into the Bengaluru-based franchise. However, he managed only 179 runs in 16 matches with the bat that season, though he had better bowling returns with 20 wickets while he also registered his best career figures in the IPL with 4/29.
Shane Watson currently plays for Chennai Super Kings, primarily as an opening batsman, and has been retained by CSK for ₹4 crores ahead of IPL 2020.
IPL 2015
Yuvraj Singh (Delhi Daredevils)
- Auction Price: INR 16 crore
Yuvraj’s impressive performances in the 2014 edition meant that he will earn a handsome sum in IPL 2015 as well. This time, the lanky all-rounder received ₹16 crores from Delhi Daredevils. He is the only Indian player in IPL history to be the most expensive buy twice in a row.
The southpaw didn’t have his best season, as he scored just 248 runs in 14 matches at an average of 19.07 and an economy rate of 118.09.
IPL 2014
Yuvraj Singh (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Auction Price: INR 14 crore
This was the first time that the players were valued in Indian rupees. Yuvraj shattered the record for the then most expensive IPL player when RCB shelled out ₹14 crores at the IPL 2014 auction.
The southpaw did a good job with the bat and scored a total of 376 runs in 14 matches at an average of 34.18 and an impressive strike rate of 135.25.
The Chandigarh-born player also smashed three fifties in the 2014 season. Yuvi also contributed with the ball and made 5 scalps in the tournament. Yuvraj announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on 10 June 2019.
IPL 2013
Glenn Maxwell (Mumbai Indians)
- Auction Price: USD 1 million
Not a star face then, Aussie big-hitter Glenn Maxwell was picked by the Mumbai Indians. However, he was released after the franchise won its maiden IPL title, having aggregated only 36 runs in three matches.
The following year, Maxwell played for Kings XI Punjab and smashed a phenomenal 552 runs in 16 matches at an astounding strike rate of 187.75 and an average of 34.50. The Punjab-based franchise paid a hefty ₹10.75 crores for him to play in IPL 2020.
IPL 2012
Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings)
- Auction Price: USD 2 million
After being a part of the Rajasthan Royals in the first two editions of the IPL, Jadeja represented Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the 2011 edition.
With Kochi Tuskers Kerala going defunct, a lot of players made it to the pool ahead of the auction. A spending cap of $2,000,000 was announced and CSK invested the whole of it on the spin-bowling all-rounder. He has been an integral part of the champion franchise ever since.
IPL 2011
Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders)
- Auction Price: USD 2.4 million
KKR went for the big move after Gautam Gambhir’s match-winning 97 off 122 balls in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. That had to be the Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise’s highest bid ever, considering Gambhir led the side to its twin titles in 2012 and 2014. Gambhir was also one of the key batsmen for the franchise with over 3000 runs.
IPL 2010
Shane Bond (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)
- Auction Price: USD 0.75 million
2010 saw a mini-auction of sorts with only 11 players ending up in the team shopping cart.
Shane Bond played 8 matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2010. The legendary Kiwi speedster made an impact as clinched 9 wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.22. IPL 2009 was Bond’s only appearance in the IPL.
His best figures of the season – 2/24 – came in the match against Mumbai Indians. The dashing right arm pacer announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 13 May 2010.
Pollard made 15 scalps in 14 matches at a strike rate of 14.80 and an economy rate of 7.40. The lanky power hitter also scored a total of 273 at an explosive strike rate of 185.71 in IPL 2010.
Kieron Pollard became an MI regular after 2010, playing a key role in the franchise winning four titles
IPL 2009
Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) and Kevin Pietersen (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
- Auction Price: USD 1.55 million
Despite having been paid big money, England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff had a forgettable season. Not in the greatest of form, he played only three matches before withdrawing from the league because of a knee injury.
IPL 2009 was Flintoff’s first and last appearance in India’s premier domestic league.
Kevin Pietersen had a difficult season with the bat for Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring only 93 runs in six matches.
IPL 2008
MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings)
- Auction Price: USD 1.5 million
Having led the Indian team to the World T20 title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007, it was no surprise that the then-Indian skipper got the highest-winning bid at the IPL 2008 auction. CSK lapped him up and he repaid the faith by leading the side to three titles.
During the 2008 edition, Dhoni amassed 414 runs in 16 matches a healthy strike rate of 133.54 and an average of 41.40. The extraordinary player-led CSK to the final, where they lost to eventual champions Rajasthan Royals.
Also read: Highest Run Scorer In IPL History Since 2008
