13 Most Expensive Players in IPL history

13 Most Expensive Players in IPL history: It was recently announced that the auction for the 2015 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place on 16th February, 2015. The previous auctions saw many surprise buys and fierce bidding wars for many players. This time around more than 500 players have registered for the IPL auction and we will definitely see more fierce bidding as franchisees would be looking to fill their teams with players who can be genuine match winners. The 8th edition of Indian Premier League will begin from 08th April 2015.
In the spirit of the auctions, we take a look at 13 most expensive buys in IPL history.

13. MS Dhoni (Chennai-2008)
$1.5 million

Chennai chose to retain Dhoni for subsequent seasons and Dhoni has been their mainstay in every edition. (Photo Source: BCCI)

The most expensive player to be bought in the first ever IPL auction, Indian captain MS Dhoni proved to be worth every dollar spent on him by Chennai Super Kings so far. 2 IPL titles, 1 Champions League title, qualifying in top 4 in every edition of the IPL, you cannot ask for more from your marquee player.
Chennai chose to retain Dhoni for subsequent seasons and Dhoni has been their mainstay in every edition.

12. Andrew Flintoff (Chennai -2009)
$1.55 million

Andrew Flintoff turned out to be a bust as he played just a handful of games before getting injured during the IPL 2009 season. (Photo Source: AFP)

The majestic English all-rounder was the focal point of a bidding war in the 2009 mini auction. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore escalated the price war for Flintoff in which Chennai came out on top with a winning bid of the highest price of $1.55 million.
Andrew Flintoff turned out to be a bust as he played just a handful of games before getting injured during the IPL 2009 season. His injuries were serious enough for him to announce retirement from all forms of cricket just after a few months.

11. Kevin Pietersen (Delhi – 2014)
$1.55 million (INR 9 crore)

His impressive performance in the recent Big Bash League in Australia in 2015 will make sure that he will command a strong interest in the upcoming IPL auction. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Kevin Pietersen was big money retain using the right to match card by Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 auction after they decided to rebuild their team after a disappointing IPL 6. Pietersen cost them INR 9 crores, but Delhi’s fortune refused to turn around and they ended up in the last place again.
Kevin Pietersen himself proved to be a hit and miss player during the season as he was struggling with form and controversy in his international career during the season. His impressive performance in the recent Big Bash League in Australia in 2015 will make sure that he will command a strong interest in the upcoming IPL auction.

10. Irfan Pathan (Delhi – 2011)
$1.59 million

Irfan Pathan was bought by Delhi Daredevils for $1.59 million. (Photo Source: BCCI )

Irfan Pathan was bought by Delhi Daredevils for $1.59 million from Kings XI Punjab in the 2011 auctions. This auction saw many surprise buys and retainers form franchisees. But seeing such big sum of money spent on a decent all-rounder took many by surprise.
Again Irfan Pathan couldn’t help much with Delhi’s fortunes and they failed to make it to the play-offs. He wasn’t retained for the upcoming season in 2015 and will feature in the auction on February 16, 2015.

9. Dinesh Kartik (Bangalore- 2015)
INR 10.5 crore (USD 1.75 million)

Dinesh Karthik was purchased by Delhi Daredevils for INR 10.5 crore. (Photo Source : BCCI )

Former Delhi wicket keeper Dinesh Kartik again got the franchisees interested in him when he got a maximum bid of INR 10.5 crores from Bangalore.
He was bought by Delhi last year for INR 12.5 crores (USD 2.08 million) in a heated bidding war between Mumbai and Delhi. This time around also he managed to entice the franchisees with his abiities with the bat and behind the stump. He can also be a leader since he has experience of leading the Tamil Nadu Ranji trophy team.

8. Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai-2012)
$2 million

Jadeja has been an integral part of the CSK outfit contributing massively with both bat and ball. (Photo Source : NDTV)

The rock star as he was named by Shane Warne during his time with Rajasthan Royals, Ravindra Jadeja sparked a massive bidding war when most of the players were in the auction pool in the 2012 auction.
In the end, Chennai Super Kings went all out and brought the left handed all-rounder for $2 million as Captain MS Dhoni wanted him in the team.
Since then, Jadeja has been an integral part of the CSK outfit contributing massively with both bat and ball. Ravindra Jadeja has since been retained by CSK for all the seasons so far and he has returned the favour in kind.

7. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai-2011)
$2 million

The young Rohit Sharma used to represent the now defunct Deccan Chargers from 2008-2010 with whom he won the IPL in 2009. (Photo Source: BCCI)

The young Rohit Sharma used to represent the now defunct Deccan Chargers from 2008-2010 with whom he won the IPL in 2009. He was then bought by Mumbai Indians in the 2011 auction and was groomed to be the future leader under the tutelage of Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh.
Sharma was made captain after Harbhajan refused to become captain in 2012 for the Champions League T20 and he responded by taking the team into the finals. Sharma was made fulltime Mumbai captain in 2012 after an out of form Ricky Ponting dropped himself and he won the title for Mumbai Indians in 2012.

6. Dinesh Karthik (Delhi- 2014)
$2.08 million (INR 12.5 crores)

Another surprise buy in the 2014 auction former Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Another surprise buy in the 2014 auction, former Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was bought after an escalated bidding war saw him fetch a price of INR 12.5 crores making him the second most expensive buy in the auction.
But Karthik could not replicate the success he had with Mumbai for Delhi Daredevils and was not released by the Delhi franchise for the upcoming 2015 IPL auction.

5. Robin Uthappa (Pune-2011)
$2.1 million

Indian opener and occasional wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa was a hot buy in the 2011 auction after he was not retained by the Bangalore franchise. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Indian opener and occasional wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa was a hot buy in the 2011 auction after he was not retained by the Bangalore franchise. The newly formed Pune Warriors owned by the Sahara group went on to bid for him and after a good bidding session, Pune bought him for a very high $2.1 million.
Uthappa proved to be a decent return for his price, but the dispute between IPL and the Sahara group meant the Pune team played for just 2 seasons in the league. Uthappa played for them with relative success.

4. Yusuf Pathan (Kolkata -2011)
$2.1 million

KKR got him for a mind blwoing price of $2.1 million. (Photo Source: Indian Premier League)

Yusuf Pathan proved to be the find of the IPL in the 3 seasons he played for the Rajasthan Royals. In 2009, he also scored the fastest hundred in IPL against Mumbai Indians in just 37 balls. So when he went into the auctions in 2011, he was considered as a must buy player for any franchise.
After a three way bidding match between Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, KKR finally got him for a mind blwoing price of $2.1 million. Despite not being in the best of forms, Pathan proved his worth in the most important knockout phase in both the editions of IPL which KKR won.

3. Yuvraj Singh (Bangalore-2014)
$2.33 million (INR 14 crores)

Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for a mind boggling INR 14 crores. (Photo Source: BCCI)

After the termination of the Pune franchisee, 2011 World cup hero Yuvraj Singh was a hot commodity in 2014 mini auction. After a fierce bidding war that escalated his 2 crores base price, Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for a mind boggling INR 14 crores. Yuvraj Singh proved to be a good buy for them scoring 376 runs in the 2014 edition and ended up as their second highest scorer.
But despite his performance, Bangalore decided to release him into the upcoming auction pool in 2015 as they felt, Yuvraj didn’t live up to the money spend on him. Yuvraj Singh will still be one of the most sought after players in the 2015 IPL auction.

2. Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata-2011)
$ 2.4 million

Gautam Gambhir was bought by KKR for a record $2.4 million and was immediately made captain of the franchise. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir was released by his home Delhi franchise after the 2010 season. Both Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders went hard after him in the auction with KKR coming out the winners. Gautam Gambhir was bought by KKR for a record $2.4 million and was immediately made captain of the franchise.
Gambhir responded by winning the title in 2012 and 2014 for the KKR. He has also been in the top 10 scoring batsmen of all time in IPL.

1. Yuvraj Singh (Delhi-2015)
INR 16 crores

Yuvraj Singh bought by DD for INR 16 crores. ( Image Source : © BCCI )

Yuvraj Singh bagged another lucrative deal of 16 crores INR in the recently held IPL players auction in Bangalore.
He was going to be a major attraction for all the franchisees and there was a heavy bidding for him between RCB, DD, RR and KKR. All the four franchisees had money in their purse and were ready to spend it as well. RCB had planned to buy him back maybe at a lower price, but Delhi with its huge money purse, bought Yuvraj for 16 crores, which are 2 crore higher than what he was bought for by RCB last time.
Now it is yet to see whether DD will make him captain or not.