Who were the most expensive players in the past IPL auctions?

The IPL 2023 auction is all set to get underway, on December 23, Friday, in Kochi. All ten teams will be aiming to get the best players in their team and build a strong squad, with an aim to win the 16^th edition of the cash-rich event. The auctions are more interesting than the main tournament, as the teams go all out.

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The bidding war between teams is something worth watching, as they empty their purses to buy a player. At every auction, there always are a couple of players who end up bagging a whopping sum from a franchise. But do we know who have been the most expensive players across all editions of the IPL Auction?

Well, it all started in 2008 when eight teams started off the first-ever auction, and the then India skipper MS Dhoni attracted the highest price as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) roped him in by spending Rs. 9.5 crores. He has led CSK since the first edition of the tournament, and the team has lifted four IPL trophies and two Champions League T20 (CLT20) titles under his leadership.

In the second edition, in 2009, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen became the most expensive players as they were brought by CSK and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) respectively, for Rs. 9.8 crores. The third edition, in 2010, saw Shane Bond and Kieron Pollard attract the highest bid as they were sold for Rs. 4.8 crores to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) respectively.

Gautam Gambhir attracted the highest bid in the fourth edition, in 2011, when KKR roped him in for Rs. 14.9 crores. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja became the most expensive player in the fifth edition, in 2012, when CSK spent Rs. 12.8 crores to get his services. The sixth edition, in 2013, saw Glenn Maxwell become the most expensive player as he was purchased by MI for Rs. 6.3 crores.

Yuvraj Singh was the highlight of the seventh and eighth editions of the auction. In 2014, RCB spent Rs. 14 crores to get him in, and in 2015, Delhi Daredevils spent Rs. 16 crores to purchase him. In the ninth edition of the tournament in 2016, Australian cricketer Shane Watson attracted the highest bid of Rs. 9.5 crores from RCB.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes turned out to be the most expensive player of both the tenth and 11^th editions of the tournament. In 2017, he was roped in by the Rising Pune Supergiant for Rs. 14.5 crores, and Rajasthan Royals (RR) purchased him in 2018 for Rs. 12.5 crores. Jaydev Unadkat and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy attracted the highest bid of Rs. 8.4 crores from RR and Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings) in the 12^th edition, in 2019.

KKR purchased Pat Cummins for Rs. 15.5 crores in 2020 as he became the most expensive player of the 13^th edition. In 2021, in the 14^th edition, Chris Morris shattered all records as he became the most expensive player in the history of IPL when RR roped him in by paying Rs. 16.25 crores. In the most recent 15^th edition of the tournament, the IPL 2022 mega auction, Ishan Kishan became the most expensive player when MI bid Rs. 15.25 crores to get him back into the side.

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