Indian Premier League (IPL) has literally been a festive season to look forward to, for cricket enthusiasts from the time the competition got conceptualized in the year 2009. There is so much of a euphoria attached to the contest and mostly, the excitement of the year’s IPL begins from the time the players go through the bidding process. For every cricket-loving person, the facts and details related to which players got bought by which team, players who got bought for the maximum monies, create enjoyable moments.
IPL of course, involves huge money inflow and outflow. From the time the summer cricketing feast has been enforced, there have been a lot of players who have garnered eyeballs for the big money involved in their bids.
So we take a tour down memory lane to find out which player got to be expensive buys in IPL.
M.S. Dhoni: IPL’s very first season in 2008 saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni being the costliest player wherein he was bought for Rs 9.5 crores by Chennai Super Kings. Why not? Dhoni was instrumental in India’s win in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Above all, his cool mind, his exhilarating batting abilities made him a player who was in much demand. He has made his franchise proud over the years by making them lift the IPL trophy three times as Captain.
Dinesh Karthik: The wicket-keeper cum batsman from India was bought for Rs 12.5 Crore by Delhi Daredevils in the year 2014.
Gautam Gambhir: In the year 2011, Gautam Gambhir was looked upon by Kolkata Knight Riders as their potential Captain material who can take them to the trophy. He was bought for a huge price of Rs 14.9 Crore.
Ravindra Jadeja: Like MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja has been the lifeline for Chennai Super Kings for many years now. So how did Jadeja start his CSK journey? He was bought by the franchise in the year 2012 for Rs 12.8 Crore. So yes, today, he stands tall as Dhoni’s successor as Captain of CSK.
Yuvraj Singh: The stylish prolific batsman from India, Yuvraj Singh has been successful to have bagged two big bids. In the year 2014, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14 Crore. In 2015, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 16 Crore.
Ben Stokes: The exciting England allrounder was the most valuable player in 2017 when he was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 Crore. Later, he was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 12.5 Crore in 2018.
Pat Cummins: The mighty Australian speedster was bought for an enormous Rs 15.5 Crore by Kolkata Knight Riders in the year 2020.
Chris Morris: The South African allrounder was in big demand in the year 2021, as he was bought for Rs 16.25 Crore by Rajasthan Royals.
Ishan Kishan: The youngster who was always in the limelight when he played for Mumbai Indians, was bought back by the same team this year (2022), for Rs 15.25 Crore.
Glenn Maxwell: The Australian middle-order batsman was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 6.3 Crore in 2013. He was again bought for Rs 10.75 Crore by Kings XI Punjab in 2020. In 2021, he was again in demand as he was bought for Rs 14.25 Crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Jhye Richardson: The Australian fast bowler was bought for Rs 14 Crore by Punjab Kings in 2021.
Kylie Jamieson: The young New Zealander was hand-picked by Virat Kohli’s men, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2021 auctions for Rs 15 Crore.
The other players to have enjoyed the limelight by striking big in the IPL bids include KL Rahul (bought for Rs 11 Crore in 2018 by Kings XI Punjab), Jaydev Unadkat (bought by Rajasthan Royals in 2018 for Rs 11.5 Crore), Manish Pandey (bought for Rs 11 Crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the year 2018), Kevin Pieterson (bought by the franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping Rs 9.8 Crore in the year 2009), Andrew Flintoff (bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 9.8 Crore in the year 2009), Shane Bond (bought for a mighty price of Rs 4.8 Crore by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010), Varun Chakravarthy (bought for Rs 8.4 Crore by Kings XI Punjab in 2019), Shane Watson (bought for Rs 9.5 Crore in the year 2016 by Royal Challengers Bangalore).
So now that we are again bitten by the IPL bug, let us enjoy the game of cricket over the next two months!!