IPL 2021 Player Auction - Statistical Highlights

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction was held in Chennai where a total of 57 players were sold to 8 teams. This is the last mini-auction of the current cycle with the next Mega auction scheduled for 2022. Next year, two more teams will be added which will add new dynamics to the 10-team IPL auction. 

There was a high demand for overseas pacers this year as well and three of the top-4 expensive buys of this auction were fast bowlers. IPL mini-auction throws up many surprises due to particular demand for teams and this year was no different. 

All the key numbers from the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for the 2021 season:

16.25 – Chris Morris became the highest ever buy in IPL auction history with Rajasthan Royals shedding a massive amount of 16.25 cr INR on the Proteas all-rounder. He went past Yuvraj Singh in this regard who was bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2015 for 16 crores. Last year, Chris Morris was bought by RCB for 10 cr INR and was released for this season. RCB did bid for him in this auction too but only till 10 cr INR.

9.25 – Krishnappa Gowtham became the most expensive uncapped Indian player in IPL history. He was bought by CSK for 9.25 crores. Earlier, Krunal Pandya held this record for being sold for 8.8 cr INR in 2018 to Mumbai Indians.

8 – Riley Meredith became the highest ever uncapped overseas buy in the IPL auction history. The Punjab Kings team included him in their squad for 8 crores. Meredith, a quick bowler, had impressed with his performance in Big Bash League.

46.25 – K Gowtham was sold for 46.25 times his base price of 20 lakhs. This is the highest ever ratio between the sold price and a base price for this auction.    

3 – Three players were bought for a price of more than 14 crores. This is the first time in an IPL auction that more than 1 player has been sold for a price of over 14 crores.

4 – Glenn Maxwell and Chris Morris got bids from most teams (4) in this auction. There were six other players who got bids from 3 different teams.

2.2 – Steve Smith who was getting 12.5 crores till last year as the captain of Rajasthan Royals could only fetch 2.2 crores this year. He was bought by Delhi Capitals this year with only another bid coming from RCB.

45.3 – A total of approximately 45.3 crores have been spent on Glenn Maxwell by franchise over the years. This is the second-highest sum for any player in the IPL auction. Only Yuvraj Singh (48.1 cr INR) has earned more at the IPL auctions than Maxwell. 

As many as 57 players were bought by the 8 franchises with 61 slots available. Of the 57 players, 22 are overseas players. Overall, 29 out of 57 players bought in this auction have been uncapped players.