Top 10: Most Expensive Players in IPL Auction History

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the biggest T20 league in terms of the money involved. This is also reflected in the player auction, as players fetch massive deals.

Year after year, the player auctions set new records for making certain players the most expensive buys.

In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 most expensive players in IPL auction history. (All figures in Indian Rupees.)

10. Matheesha Pathirana | 18 crore to KKR (2026)

Matheesha Pathirana was let go by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the 2026 IPL auction. Many thought CSK might buy him back, but they didn’t even lift their paddle.

Nevertheless, Pathirana saw a three-way battle for him. First Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants locked horns before Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a late entry to snatch their man. KKR spent 18 crore to secure the services of the Sri Lankan fast bowler.

9. Yuzvendra Chahal | 18 crore to PBKS (2025)

Yuzvendra Chahal entered the 2025 auction as the IPL’s top wicket-taker. So he garnered a lot of interest.

There was a five-way battle to secure the services of Chahal. Gujarat Titans (GT), CSK, LSG, Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) put in their bids. But it was PBKS who locked the leg spinner in their squad at 18 crore.

8. Arshdeep Singh | 18 crore to PBKS (2025)

Arshdeep Singh also attracted a lot of attention in the 2025 auction. CSK and DC started the bidding war. 

Then GT, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Rajasthan Royals (RR), and SRH dipped their toes. SRH had Arshdeep at 15.75 crore. But there was a twist!

Arshdeep’s previous team, PBKS, pulled off the Right-to-Match (RTM) card to buy him back. Then SRH raised the bid to 18 crore, which PBKS matched to re-sign Arshdeep.

7. Sam Curran | 18.50 crore to PBKS (2023)

England’s players were in high demand in the 2023 auction. And Sam Curran was among the hottest commodities among them.

Six teams locked horns to buy the English all-rounder. The reason? He came off a ‘Player of the Tournament’ performance in the 2022 T20 World Cup. 

Mumbai Indians (MI) made a strong effort to acquire him. But they weren’t alone in the fight, as RCB, RR, CSK, PBKS, and LSG also showed interest.

MI eventually lost the race to PBKS, who snapped up Curran for a staggering 18.50 crore, making him the most expensive player of the 2023 IPL auction.

6. Pat Cummins | 20.50 crore to SRH (2024)

Pat Cummins became the first player to cross the INR 20-crore mark in IPL auction history. And it wasn’t surprising at all.

Why? Cause he had won the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup as Australia’s captain.

So, CSK and MI had an El Clásico battle in the auction room for the Aussie captain. While MI left out soon, RCB and SRH pitched hard for him.

Finally, SRH, who were looking for stable leadership, landed their future captain in Cummins for 20.50 crore.

5. Venkatesh Iyer | 23.75 crore to KKR (2025)

KKR were adamant about buying back Venkatesh Iyer. He had proved his all-round utility for them in previous seasons.

So KKR opened the bid and didn’t budge till the hammer fell in their favour. They countered the bids from LSG and RCB to sign the tall all-rounder for 23.75 crore.

4. Mitchell Starc | 24.75 crore to KKR (2024)

The IPL 2024 auction witnessed another 20-crore-plus deal. This time, Cummins’ fellow countryman Mitchell Starc got lucky. 

Starc, who hadn’t played the IPL after the 2015 season, became the most expensive player in the 2024 IPL auction. In a four-way battle, KKR went bonkers to have Starc on their side and spent a mind-blowing 24.75 crore.

3. Cameron Green | 25.20 crore to KKR (2026)

Cameron Green missed the 2025 season due to injury. But he returned to the 2026 auction as the most in-demand player.

And as expected, massive bids started to roll in for him. KKR and CSK were serious contenders to buy him, given their purse availability.

Both teams engaged in a bidding war, which ended with KKR’s winning bid of 25.20 crore. This made Green the most expensive overseas pick in IPL auction history.

2. Shreyas Iyer I 26.75 crore to PBKS (2025)

KKR made a major blunder by not retaining Shreyas Iyer ahead of the 2025 auction. While they did try to bid for him, they left out the battle way too soon.

But DC and PBKS? These two franchises went toe-to-toe to buy the 2024 IPL-winning captain.

DC tried to get back their former player. But they lost out in the race to PBKS, who shelled out 26.75 crore to acquire Shreyas.

1. Rishabh Pant | 27 crore to LSG (2025)

After a nine-year association with DC, Rishabh Pant was back in the auction pool. There was no doubt that he would attract a lot of bids. And that’s what happened.

LSG and RCB engaged in an intense bidding war. SRH then replaced RCB to take the bid above 20 crore.

LSG almost had a deal at 20.75 crore. But then DC jumped in with the RTM card. The determined LSG management, however, raised the bid to 27 crore to seal the deal.

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