Best XI of the costliest players in the IPL auctions

Well, the IPL is now that cup of tea that every player wants to enjoy. Each year, a number of cricketers from all around the globe want to participate in T20 cricket’s biggest extravaganza. The elites of international cricket enjoy an exclusive demand where only the sky is the limit.

Perhaps, over the years, India’s biggest T20 carnival has grown exponentially both from the demand and supply zones. As the IPL is an amalgamation between the players of capitalism and cricket, the endmost output for everyone involved has always been humongous.

Overall, since the inception of this T20 festival, the record for making the most expensive player purchases in cricket has been broken aggressively time after time. 

Hence in this list, let’s make the best XI of the costliest players in the IPL auction

(Kindly note that the list contains the names of only those players who have been bought only during the IPL auctions)

1. Gautam Gambhir- INR 11.04 Crore (IPL 2011)

Well, until the IPL 2011 auctions, no cricketer had ever crossed the 10 Crore mark in terms of their purchases. It was only in the 2011 season when the KKR franchise pushed went full throttle to acquire Gautam Gambhir, who then entirely changed the purple army’s fortunes.

At that point in time, India’s ace opener was already the best in business when it came to stacking runs in the top-order. Before the 2011 auction, the southpaw was already averaging over 30 for Delhi Daredevils during his three-year stint. Also, his ruthless and valiant approach towards the game had commendably made him the skipper of Delhi in IPL 2010.

Perhaps for KKR, since the franchise wanted to change its entire human arsenal, the bagging of Gambhir later became a match made in heaven. In fact, immediately after the IPL 2011, the purple army started to become a regular member of the IPL playoffs.

Overall, the amount of INR 11.04 Crore, spent on Gautam Gambhir, turned out to be a value worthy deal as KKR comprehensively won two IPL glories along with three IPL playoffs berths.

2. KL Rahul- INR 11 Crore (IPL 2018)

For KL Rahul, the IPL 2016 was utter bliss. The Bangalore cricketer, while representing his home franchise, had stacked an impressive total of 397 runs at an average of 44.11. After the season’s completion, it looked almost certain that the local boy was all set to serve RCB for the longest of times.

However, in the 2017 season, Rahul sustained an injury that eventually resulted in his axing after the 2017 IPL. Before the mega auction of 2018, team India’s ace T20 batter was then straightforwardly available at the auction table for which the KXIP franchise paid a luminary sum of INR 11 Crore.

Perhaps immediately in the initial stages of the 2018 season, Rahul’s deal turned out to be worth every penny especially when the batter started scoring runs at will. Eventually, Rahul turned out to be the backbone of the franchise as the runs were being towered at an average of above 54.

In fact, till today for the Punjab franchise, KL Rahul has never averaged below fifty during his four-year stint. All in all, one can indeed say that for the Punjab management, Rahul’s purchase has been worth a king’s ransom.

3. Dinesh Karthik- INR 12.5 Crore (IPL 2014)

Well, over the years, Dinesh Karthik has represented many teams in the IPL. The cricketer has in total represented six different franchises and has won the IPL title with MI once. To break up his glory days in the IPL, DK was a vital cog during MI’s formidable triumph in 2013 along with a vital card in KKR’s leadership group from 2018-2021.

However, in between, when the wicket-keeper used to be a force in the top-order, his demand in the IPL was always elevating. In fact, as DK had amassed more than 500 runs for MI in a single season, his IPL stocks were bound to receive a breakout in the next auction.

Perhaps teams like Delhi, who wanted a build a strong squad, had gone all guns blazing to bag Karthik in the 2014 mega auction. The Delhi team management paid an enormous total of INR 12.5 Crore to bag one of team India’s versatile T20 batters.

But sadly, nothing after that was kept intact, as the Tamil Nadu cricketer didn’t have a great season with the bat. From 14 games in the 2014 season, DK only scored mere 325 runs at an average of 23.21. Unfortunately, after that, even Karthik’s IPL salary received few blows in the forthcoming years.

4. Yuvraj Singh- 16 Crore (IPL 2015)

Well, when the RCB franchise had bought Yuvraj Singh for a colossal amount of INR 14 Crore in IPL 2014, it looked like the cricketer had overwhelmingly received his maximum salary. Some even believed that such a record purchase could even be IPL’s best ever deal for the longest of times.

However, the Delhi franchise in the IPL 2015 had fired their full cylinders to acquire the legendary all-rounder for a towering amount of INR 16 Crore. Such a mountain of a paycheck was also been executed to make sure that India’s greatest white-ball batter must play all his IPL cricket for the DD team.

However sadly for both the parties, the southpaw had a very mediocre season as only 248 runs came from his blade. By eventually averaging around 19, all Yuvraj had managed was mere two fifties from 14 games. Overall, though after the awful 2015 IPL season, Yuvraj won an IPL title with the SRH franchise, his IPL salary massively plunged till IPL 2019.

5. Ben Stokes- INR 14.5 Crore (IPL 2017)

During the times of the year 2016 and 2017, Ben Stokes had undisputedly established himself as one of the premier all-rounders of the game. The cricketer for England was also all set to redeem himself from the misery of the 2016 World T20 Final. In fact, to uplift their white-ball cricket, the England players ultimately had decided to join the IPL, every season from 2017 onwards.

In that process, when Ben Stokes was up in the 2017 auction table, the all-rounder keenly received massive bids from the various teams. But since the Pune franchise had the luxury of offering more, Stokes was signed for a monumental amount of INR 14.5 Crores.

Perhaps in terms of his performances, the southpaw ended up having an impressive debut IPL season. From his total of 12 games, Stokes scored 316 runs at an average of almost 32 and scalped 12 wickets. In the end, if the cricketer was available for the finals then maybe the Pune team would have bagged its first IPL glory.

6. Glenn Maxwell- INR 14.25 Crore (IPL 2021)

After a disastrous 2020 IPL, nobody had imagined that Glenn Maxwell will enjoy a whopping demand in the 2021 IPL auction. The cricketer was highly castigated for his past IPL performances and was expected to bag a reasonable deal from its former franchise (KXIP). However, the all-rounder’s commendable white-ball summer at home had again allured many franchises to bag him for the 14th IPL season.

Perhaps during the time of his signing, the Aussie batter experienced a bidding war amongst four different franchises. Initially, teams like KKR and RR had shown a keen interest but other franchises like RCB and CSK had indulged in an intense bidding conflict that erupted his price to above INR 14 Crore.

However, fortunately for RCB, the purchase of Glenn Maxwell for INR 14.25 Crore was worth immensely. The 33-year old turned out to be the highest run-scorer of the team and finally had a successful IPL season since 2014. Overall, the Aussie all-rounder’s signing was nothing short of a new vitality in RCB’s eventful batting order.

7. Ravindra Jadeja- INR 9.8 Crore (IPL 2012)

Before bagging his best ever contract at the auction table, Ravindra Jadeja had become a hot commodity in the IPL 2011. In the 2011 season, the all-rounder had scored almost 300 runs at an average of 31.44 along with some wickets. His impressive performances also then had earned him a re-entry in team India’s limited-overs side after which his IPL stocks also significantly rose.

However, when the CSK franchise wanted an all-rounder in IPL 2012, the management went with full throttle to acquire the young all-rounder’s services. The yellow army’s management also had engaged in a bidding war with the Deccan franchise and eventually signed Jadeja at a stupendous amount of INR 9.8 Crore.

Perhaps, as result, the 32-year old then left no stone unturned to establish himself as one of the most beloved players of the franchise. Even post-IPL 2021, Jadeja is yet again expected to get retention for the future days.

8. Chris Morris- INR 16.25 Crore (IPL 2021)

As a jaunty T20 freelancer, Chris Morris has played the shortest format all around the globe. The all-rounder has played a total of 234 T20 games and is considered one of the elusive bowling all-rounders who can valorously contribute with the bat. Overall because of possessing such a valuable skill set, the South African is often seen in huge demand in the IPL.

But recently in IPL 2021, Morris was overwhelmingly bought by the RR franchise for INR 16.25 Crore. Since their chief pacer Jofra Archer wasn’t available, Morris seemed to be an ideal fill-in for the pink army. Perhaps in terms of his performances, Morris astonishingly picked up 14 wickets from his first 7 games in IPL 2021.

However, the second half of IPL turned out to be a nightmare for the spearhead as later from his 4 games, he could scalp only a single wicket. Overall for RR, the fat cheque of INR 16.25 Crore was nothing but chalk and cheese in IPL 2021.

9. Pat Cummins- INR 15.5 Crore (IPL 2020)

Well, for the past three years, Pat Cummins has been blazing fireball shots in international cricket. The pacer, across formats, has emerged to be a prominent entity for Australia. Perhaps when the cricketer wanted to experience the IPL after his hiatus of three years, it was indeed certain that Cummins will fetch a deal of a king-size amount.

In fact with the KKR franchise also looking to bag a premier overseas pacer in IPL 2020, it was expected that the purple army will go the distance to grab Pat Cummins. At the auction table, the Aussie pacer was signed for INR 15.5 Crore but later on, the performances weren’t much worthy.

From his outing of all 14 games, Cummins only managed to pouch 12 wickets at an economy of almost 8. Fortunately, with the bat, he played some interesting cameos, but in the end, the franchise failed to even qualify for the playoffs.

10. Kyle Jamieson- INR 15 Crore (IPL 2021)

Well, if the Kiwis are well known to punch above their weight then definitely Kyle Jamieson also carries such similar attributes. The tall pacer, since his debut in 2020, has become one of the centrepieces of the NZ team across formats. Perhaps when the bowling all-rounder also wanted to taste the IPL, a plethora of demand and money was been offered to him.

To strengthen their overseas pace attack, the RCB management had vigorously bid for the 26-year old and signed him for a gargantuan amount of INR 15 Crore. In response, the debutant had a decent time as from his 9 games a total of 9 wickets were scalped. However, in terms of being economical, the medium-pacer leaked run at a rate of 9.60.

Overall, maybe because of very high demand in IPL 2021 auction, Jamieson seemed to have received a big premium than his actual value. Further, in the mega auction of IPL 2022, it will be interesting to see how much more demand the Kiwi enjoys in the cash-rich league.

11. Jhye Richardson- INR 14 Crore (IPL 2021)

Interestingly before the IPL 2021 auction, Jhye Richardson was utterly enjoying T20 cricket. The pacer in the BBL 2020-21 scalped a pile of 29 wickets from 17 games at an average of 16.31. Perhaps before the auction, many teams had kept their eyes on the youngster to fetch him at an equitable deal.

However, at the auction table, teams like DC, PBKS and RCB entered into a solid bidding war that soared up Richardson’s contract value to INR 14 Crore. Since the PBKS management wanted a set of overseas pacers, they contentedly preferred even paying a hefty premium.

Unfortunately in response, the Aussie pacer played only three IPL games and plucked 3 wickets at an expensive economy rate of 10.63. Overall, maybe since the franchise played its initial games at the high scoring venues, Richardson sadly experienced an ordeal in his debut IPL season.