The Indian Premier League is dubbed as the cash rich league as there is a lot of money involved with players, the very finest and some relatively unknown, earning some big bucks either at the auction or via player retention and drafts.
Over the years, the auction has seen the owners or team officials get into a bidding war for the players they think will get them the best results. We have witnessed this on multiple occasions for multiple players and sometimes the same player in different seasons.
While some players like England's Sam Curran and Australia's Cameron Green had hit the jackpot in the auctions, some big name Indian players like Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have earned top dollar with franchises keen on retaining their star players. Pat Cummins became the most expensive and highest paid player in IPL history during the IPL 2024 auction after Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore to the Australia captain's signing at the price of Rs 20.50 Crore.
However, that record lasted for less than an hour as his compatriot Mitchell Starc smashed the record for most expensive player in IPL auction history after Kolkata Knight Riders splashed a whopping Rs 24.75 Crore in the 2024 auction to bag the Aussie pace spearhead, beating off the bidding war with Gujarat Titans.
The first ever IPL auction was held in 2008, but the recent seasons have seen players become expensive buys or expensive retentions as franchises look to break the bank to build title-winning teams. A few players like Ben Stokes and Cummins have fetched huge price at different auction, while some have been surprise names. Here is a list of the top 25 most expensive players in IPL History (including auction buys and pre-auction retentions).
| Player | Price in INR | Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | Kolkata Knight Riders | 24.75 | 2024 |
| Pat Cummins | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 20.50 | 2024 |
| Sam Curran | Punjab Kings | 18.50 | 2023 |
| Cameron Green | Mumbai Indians | 17.50 | 2023 |
| Ben Stokes | Chennai Super Kings | 16.25 | 2023 |
| Chris Morris | Rajasthan Royals | 16.25 | 2021 |
| Nicolas Pooran | Lucknow Super Giants | 16.00 | 2023 |
| Yuvraj Singh | Delhi Daredevils | 16.00 | 2015 |
| Pat Cummins | Kolkata Knight Riders | 15.50 | 2020 |
| Ishan Kishan | Mumbai Indians | 15.25 | 2022 |
Also Read: How to watch IPL auction live free on Mobile
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