The Indian T20 Premier League is a men’s T20 franchise cricket league of India started by the BCCI in 2008. So far, there have been fifteen seasons of the Indian Premier League tournament. IPL’s worth now is $ 5,500 million and in monetary terms, Indian T20 Premier League contributes to 0.6% of India’s GDP. 

The viewership of the Indian T20 Premier League is so huge that its not only streaming online but TV rights itself have been sold for a record $ 6.02 billion for the year 2023 to 2027. From big business houses to mega movie stars, you get to witness their participation in the annual auctions who bid for the most expensive players in Indian T20 Premier League.

Let’s take a look at the most expensive players in the history of Indian T20 Premier League.

Most Expensive Players in Indian T20 Premier League (2022 to 2008)

Indian T20 Premier League Expensive Players Summary

2022 – Ishan Kishan

Indian wicket-keeper and batsman Ishan Kishan becomes the most expensive player in Indian T20 Premier League in 2022. He got the highest bid on the first day of the 2 days IPL 2022 Auction. Mumbai Indians in a competition with SRH won their former player back to their team for ₹15.25 crores. Ishan is now the second most expensive Indian player in Indian T20 Premier League history after Yuvraj Singh.

2021 – Chris Moris

South African all-rounder Christopher Moris becomes the most expensive player in Indian T20 Premier League history by beating Pat Cummins. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of ₹ 16.25 crores. Moris delivered good performance with the ball by taking 11 wickets in 9 matches. 

2020 –  Pat Cummins

The Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins who had earlier played for Delhi Capitals was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹ 15.5 crores in 2020. He became the most expensive foreign player in IPL history and took 12 wickets in 14 matches for Indian T20 Premier League 2020.

2019 – Jaydev Unadkat & Varun Chakravarthy 

Gujarat-born bowler Jaydev Unadkat was bought at auction by Rajasthan Royals for ₹8.4 crores again in 2019 and let down the team yet again. Karnataka-born all-rounder Varun Chakravarthy, who wasn’t really a popular name and got the same bid of ₹8.4 crores from Kings XI Punjab, also failed to deliver by just playing one match.

2018 – Ben Stokes

England all-rounder Stokes Ben was purchased by Rajasthan Royals for ₹12.5 crores after an intense bidding between CSK, KKR and Punjab Kings. He became the most expensive player in IPL 2018 because of having earned the most valuable player title in the previous season. However, he had not his best performances that season with only 196 runs from 13 matches and 8 wickets. 

2017 – Ben Stokes

The previous year too, England all-rounder Ben Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant for ₹14.5 crores. He goes on to hit 316 runs in 12 matches at an excellent strike rate of 142.98 and an average of 31.60. His best performance was match-winning 103 off 63 balls against the Gujarat Titans. He also took 12 wickets in as many matches at an economy rate of 7.18. 

2016 – Shane Watson

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was purchased by Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹9.5 crores after Rajasthan Royals was suspended for two seasons. However, he managed only 179 runs in 16 matches with the bat, though he had better bowling returns with 20 wickets. He had been retained by CSK for ₹4 crores ahead of Indian T20 Premier League 2020.

2015 – Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh’s impressive performances in the 2014 Indian T20 Premier League made him receive ₹16 crores from Delhi Daredevils and the only Indian player in IPL history to be the most expensive buy twice simultaneously. He didn’t have his best performances this time, as he scored just 248 runs in 14 matches at an economy rate of 118.09 and an average of 19.07.

2014 – Yuvraj Singh

Previous year, Yuvi broke all the records and became the most expensive player in Indian T20 Premier League when Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for ₹14 crores. He did a good job and scored a total of 376 runs in 14 matches at an average of 34.18 and a good strike rate of 135.25. He also hit three 50s in the 2014 Indian T20 Premier League season. 

2013 – Glenn Maxwell

Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell was bought by Mumbai Indians for ₹6.3 crores. However, he was released after MI won its first IPL title in 2013, where he scored only 36 runs in three matches. The next year ,Maxwell played for Kings XI Punjab and hit 552 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 187.75 and an average of 34.50. 

2012 – Ravindra Jadeja

After being a part of the Rajasthan Royals in the first two editions of the Indian T20 Premier League, Gujarat based all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja represented Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the 2011 edition. With Kochi Tuskers Kerala going defunct, Chennai Super Kings invested on the spin-bowling all-rounder for ₹12.8 crores. He has been an integral part of the CSK ever since.

2011 – Gautam Gambhir 

SRK’s franchise’s Kolkata Knight Riders bought Gautam Gambhir for ₹14.9 crores after his impressive performance in the 2011 World Cup final. The buy was really profitable as he scored a good chunk of runs and also led KKR to two IPL titles. He was also one of the key batsmen for the franchise with over 3000 runs. Gambhir was also the first player to cross the ₹10 crores mark. 

2010 – Shane Bond &  Kieron Pollard 

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond and Kieron Pollard were bought in a mini auction by Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians respectively for ₹4.8 crores. Bond played only 8 matches and took 9 wickets which was his only appearance in the IPL. Pollard also scored a total of 273 at a strike rate of 185.71.

2009 – Kevin Pietersen & Andrew Flintoff 

England’s players Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were bought in an auction by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings respectively for the same amount of ₹9.8 crores. Kevin Pietersen had not performed well, scoring only 93 runs in six matches. England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff had played only three matches, withdrawing from the series because of a knee injury.

2008 – MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings won Indian team captain cool MS Dhoni for ₹9.5 crore. He became the most expensive player in the IPL 2008 because of his performance at the World T20 title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007. He played his best taking CSK to the final, where they lost to eventual champions, Rajasthan Royals.

Conclusion

So far, the most expensive player in Indian T20 Premier League history of 15 years was Christopher Morris who was bought in an auction for ₹16.25 crores in 2021 by Rajasthan Royals. Let’s see who breaks the record in the upcoming auction that starts soon on 23rd December. Stay tuned!