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List of most expensive player in each season of Indian T20 League

Players that play well end up making a fortune during the auction. Hence, during every season, we see individuals earning the big bucks

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Chris Morris

Chris Morris Image source: (BCCI/IPL)

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that an auction for the Indian T20 League is as exciting as the tournament itself. Several fans wait to see their favourite players go down the hammer every year. On the other hand, several people want their favourite teams' to buy a particular player.

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Thus, this nail-biting affair always managed to generate a lot of buzz. However, several players end up getting unsold in the auction, and the trend has continued in each season. Players who display good performances end up making a fortune during the auction. Hence, during the auction for every season, we see a specific individual earning the big bucks.

During the inaugural edition of the league, the then Indian skipper MS Dhoni was the most expensive player, the Chennai-based franchise acquired his services for INR 9.5 crore in 2008. Since then, he has been synonymous with the franchise, and has led them to four titles.

As for the 2009 edition, the English duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were the most expensive buys. The Bangalore-based franchise and Chennai purchased them for INR 7.5 crore respectively. The third edition of the league saw Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond being the most expensive players. While the Kiwi was purchased by the Kolkata-based franchise, the Caribbean all-rounder was bought by the Mumbai-based franchise.

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During the first mega auction in the history of the Indian T20 league in 2011, Gautam Gambhir was the most expensive buy. It was Kolkata who spent a whopping amount of INR 14.9 crore. This turned out to be an absolute masterstroke as the opener went on to completely change the fate of the franchise. Gambhir won two titles for the West Bengal-based team. Post this, began the era of all-rounders as almost all the auction's post 2011 saw all-rounders getting the highest bids. While Ravindra Jadeja was the most expensive buy in 2012, Glenn Maxwell was the costliest purchase in 2013. The next two editions saw Yuvraj Singh being the most expensive player. (INR 14 crore in 2014 and INR 16 crore in 2015).

In 2016, it was Shane Watson who was purchased for INR 9.5 crore, making him the most expensive buy. It is to be noted that he was purchased by the Bangalore-based franchise.  After which, Ben Stokes was the biggest purchase for the next two seasons. As a matter of fact, when he was purchased by the now defunct Pune-based franchise in 2017, he went on to win the MVP award in that season as well. However, the 2019 edition saw two Indian bowlers getting the highest bids, them being Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy for INR 8.5 crore.

Pat Cummins then bagged the highest amount in 2020 as Kolkata acquired his services for INR 15.5 crore. Last but not the least, the 2021 edition saw Chris Morris bagging an INR 16.25 crore deal and thus, he became the most expensive buy in the history of the Indian T20 league. It was the Rajasthan-based franchise who went all out to get him in their side. Thus, it will be exciting to see who ends up being the costliest buy during the upcoming mega auction, which is slated to take place on February 12 and 13.

List of highest-paid players

Year Players & Teams Price (in INR)
2008 MS Dhoni (Chennai) 9.5 crore
2009 Kevin Pietersen (Bangalore), Andrew Flintoff (Chennai) 9.8 crore
2010 Shane Bond (Kolkata), Kieron Pollard (Mumbai) 4.8 crore
2011 Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata) 14.9 crore
2012 Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai) 12.8 crore
2013 Glenn Maxwell (Mumbai) 6.3 crore
2014 Yuvraj Singh (Bangalore) 14 crore
2015 Yuvraj Singh (Delhi) 16 crore
2016 Shane Watson (Bangalore) 9.5 crore
2017 Ben Stokes (Pune) 14.5 crore
2018 Ben Stokes (Rajasthan) 12.5 crore
2019 Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan), Varun Chakravarthy (Punjab) 8.4 crore
2020 Pat Cummins (Kolkata) 15.5 crore
2021 Chris Morris (Rajasthan) 16.25 crore
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