The Indian Premier League has been known to be a cash-rich league, where players get paid insane amounts of money to play for the franchises. And, the IPL Auction not only gets fortunes for the Indian players but their overseas counterparts too. There have been players who have come in from abroad and have been paid big cheques to play in the tournament by the teams. So, here’s a look at the 5 most expensive buys of the IPL history.
1. Chris Morris – IPL 2021
Breaking all records on the auction floor during the mini IPL auction ahead of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, was Chris Morris, who was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping sum of Rs. 16.25 crores. As soon as Morris’ name came up for the auction, a bidding war started on the auction floor, and the teams started raising their paddles in a bid to buy Morris.
Morris who has played 70 matches in the Indian Premier League so far, has scored 551 runs and has taken 80 wickets in total. And, he could very well be the player that wins the Royal Challengers Bangalore their first tournament title. With a tag of Rs. 16.25 crore, Morris became the costliest ever player to be sole in the IPL Auction.
2. Pat Cummins – IPL 2020
Until Morris came in and bagged the heftiest contract of all time, it was Pat Cummins who held the crown of being the most expensive overseas buy in IPL history. In the auction held before the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League, the Kolkata Knight Riders had shelled out a sum of Rs. 15.5 crores in the IPL Auction to get him in the team.
He did not have the best of seasons with the team, but, in the 14 matches he played in that season, he was able to score 223 runs and take 29 wickets in total. The Kolkata Knight Riders, showing faith in his abilities to justify the price tag attached to him, chose to retain him for the 2021 season of the IPL.
3. Kyle Jamieson – IPL 2021
Another player who got the IPL Auction floor rolling ahead of the 2021 edition of the tournament was Kyle Jamieson. The 26-year-old New Zealander managed to attract a bid of as high as Rs. 15 crores from the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp, who seemed to be going for the loot during the auction.
Jamieson, who has made a name for himself at the highest level in the short period of time that he has been around, has played in a total of 12 International matches, where he has scored 251 runs and has taken 42 wickets. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have invested heavily on both sides of the age group spectrum, with Morris being on one side and Jamieson being on the other, and they would be expecting match-winning performances from both these players.
4. Ben Stokes – IPL 2017
Holder of the record of being the highest-paid overseas cricketer in IPL, before being dethroned by Pat Cummins in 2020, Ben Stokes grabbed all the headlines, during the IPL Auction of 2017, when he was bought by the now-defunct franchise, Rising Pune Supergiant, who practically broke the bank and paid him Rs. 14.5 crores for a season-long stint with the team.
Stokes at the time had been in the headlines for his limited overexploits with the England Cricket Team, but Stokes never seemed to truly get into the groove for the Indian Premier League. Apart from one-off performances once in a while, Ben Stokes till date has not been able to live up to the expectations that come along with a player of his stature and calibre.
5. Glenn Maxwell – IPL 2021
The ‘Big Show’ Glenn Maxwell, was one of the few players who were paid insane amounts of money in the 2021 IPL Auction. The veteran Australian all-rounder has been a part of a few franchises before who have paid big amounts of money to have him, but the 2021 Auction brought him bags full of good news. He was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the first time in the history of the tournament, who paid a sum of Rs. 14.25 crores to get him.
Maxwell has been a big name in the cash-rich league and has established himself to be a player for whom, every team would crave for. His occasional streaks of brilliance, where he can win matches for his team single-handedly, his sharp Australian instincts on the field, and his ability to get the odd wicket with the ball make him a player who is sought after and paid heavily in IPL year after year.
6. Jhye Richardson – IPL 2021
The third Aussie to feature in the list, Jhye Richardson, along with his countrymate, Glenn Maxwell must have been all smiles after seeing the teams battling for him in the 2021 IPL Auction, which ended with him picked up by the Punjab Kings for a sum of Rs. 14 crores.
The 24-year-old bowler from Australia has not played in the Indian Premier League so far but has the number in the Big Bash League and international cricket behind him, to make the franchises form special plans for him during this year’s tournament. And, the young gun will be looking to also do justice to the money that he is being paid.
