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 10 most expensive players in IPL history.
Most Expensive Players in IPL History
| Player | Team | Price (in INR) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | Kolkata Knight Riders | 24.75 crore | 2024 |
| Pat Cummins | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 20.50 crore | 2024 |
| Sam Curran | Punjab Kings | 18.50 crore | 2023 |
| Cameron Green | Mumbai Indians | 17.50 crore | 2023 |
| Ben Stokes | Chennai Super Kings | 16.25 crore | 2023 |
| Chris Morris | Rajasthan Royals | 16.25 crore | 2021 |
| Nicolas Pooran | Lucknow Super Giants | 16.00 crore | 2023 |
| Yuvraj Singh | Delhi Daredevils | 16.00 crore | 2015 |
| Pat Cummins | Kolkata Knight Riders | 15.50 crore | 2020 |
| Ishan Kishan | Mumbai Indians | 15.25 crore | 2022 |
1. Mitchell Starc | 2024
The IPL 2024 auction witnessed the bidding cross 20 crores for the first time. Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, who last played in the IPL in 2015, became the most expensive player in IPL history. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went bonkers to have Starc on their side and spent a mind-blowing INR 24.75 crore.
2. Pat Cummins | 2024
Before Starc became the most expensive player, Pat Cummins held the record for over an hour, with INR 20.50 crore splurged on him by Sunrisers Hyderabad. The ODI World Cup-winning captain became the first player to cross the 20-crore mark in the IPL.
3. Sam Curran | 2023
If 2024 was the year of Australian players, then 2023 belonged to English players, with all-rounder Sam Curran shining bright. The Punjab Kings snapped up Curran for a staggering INR 18.50 crore, making him the most expensive player of that season.
4. Cameroon Green | 2023
The IPL teams have a fascination with spending huge bucks on foreign players, especially from Australia and England. Apart from Curran, Australia’s Cameroon Green was also in high demand in 2023, with the Mumbai Indians acquiring him for INR 17.50 crore.
5. Ben Stokes | 2023
One more Englishman is on this list of the most expensive players in the IPL. The destructive Ben Stokes garnered INR 16.25 crore from the Chennai Super Kings in 2023. However, Stokes only played 2 games in the season and didn’t perform owing to his injury.
6. Chris Morris | 2021
One of the rare occurrences when a South African player went for a bigger sum in IPL auction history. Chris Morris fetched an astounding INR 16.25 crore from the Rajasthan Royals in 2021, though he had an average outing with them.
7. Nicholas Pooran | 2023
The 2023 auction saw many players breach the 15 crore mark. The West Indies keeper-batter Nicholas Pooran went under the hammer for INR 16 crore as the Lucknow Super Giants bid for him. He had a decent season, scoring runs at a strike rate of 172.95.
8. Yuvraj Singh | 2015
Yuvraj Singh, one of the most renowned Indian all-rounders, became the first player to have been sold for INR 15+ crore. Delhi Daredevil snapped up the southpaw for a massive INR 16 crore. A year before that, Royal Challengers Bangalore spent INR 14 crore to buy Yuvraj Singh, though he couldn’t do much for both teams.
9. Pat Cummins | 2020
Cummins features one more time on this list of the most expensive players. His former team, KKR, bought him for INR 15.50 crore, though he had a decent turnout for them.
10. Ishan Kishan | 2022
During the 2022 IPL mega auction, the Mumbai Indias went all in to get their player, Ishan Kishan, back in the squad. The Indians spent a whopping INR 15.25 crore to keep Kishan in their squad.
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