5 costliest players in the history of IPL auctions as of 17th season

Business, money, and cricket has always gone hand in hand in a cash-rich league like the IPL. In its 17th edition, the league has reached new heights, where the players are getting paid with hefty amounts. There has been an increasing demand for players for the side. But there has also been an inflation in the price of the players, given the increase in the overall purse amount of the teams. Over the years, a lot has changed in the league. The biggest change has been the expansion of the league, both by its popularity and by its total value, which has helped the players in bagging huge deals.

For instance, the players who are retained by the sides are not even the costliest in the league. It is the players who are available at the auctions that usually bag the huge deals. Some players play in the league and become rich overnight. IPL has always been that way. Especially for pace bowlers and All-rounders, it is a money-making opportunity to play about 2 months of cricket or so. The 2024 edition of the league has witnessed a couple of crazy buys to set a new milestone in the history of the league. The demand for talent and the supply of money has gone hand in hand.

Here are the 5 costliest players in the history of IPL auctions as of 17th season

5. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli was one of the earliest players to be valued at INR 17 crores at the auctions. The star player's value was unmatched at his peak and has stayed the same even now. When RCB retained him in the IPL 2018, he was retained at a record price of INR 17 crores. No other player to date has been retained by their franchise for more amount. If Kohli were to participate in the auction, his value would have likely been more than anyone. But since he has been retained by RCB, his value has not changed since 2018. Most of the players have their price at around INR 15 crores or so after getting retained.

Virat attained the level of being sold at INR 17 crores in the 2018 season. He remained the costliest player for 5 more seasons. It was in 2023 that someone dethroned Virat from his position. It shows how impactful Kohli has been in terms of setting the standards so high which is tough to be reached. It is also a bit weird that he is not number 1 on a list like this in cricket. But that is how things work in the IPL, where pure batters are not in huge demand. Yet, Virat still happens to be one of the most costliest players in the league. He is the only Indian player to feature in the list of the costliest players in the IPL.

4. Cameron Green

Cameron Green took part in the auction of the IPL 2023 and emerged as the second-costliest player of the season. The youngster has been a revelation in the IPL when he was asked to be the top-order batter by MI last season. With the ball, Green has been handy. As Mumbai Indians got Hardik Pandya in the trade earlier this month, they decided to trade Cameron Green to RCB. As a result, the talented All-rounder will be representing RCB in the IPL 2024. The South Indian franchise would be hoping for Green to come good in a role he has not aced till now as a batter in T20 cricket across leagues and for Australia.

RCB's coach Amdy Flower recently announced their top 5 batters for the season. It was as follows - Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green. RCB want him to finish the games for them. He used to bat as a middle-order batter for Australia in Tests and ODIs. But in T20Is, his success has been more as a top-order batter. But since it is stacked in the lineup of RCB, they want Green to finish the innings for them. In the IPL auction 2023, he bagged a huge price of INR 17.5 crores. He retains the same money while playing for RCB in the IPL 2024. 

3. Sam Curran

Sam Curran has remained one of the costliest players in the league ever since he came to the fore in 2019. The talented All-rounder has been in demand since the start of his career and continues to be one of the costliest players in the league. In the IPL 2023, PBKS bought him for a humongous amount of INR 18.5 crores, which was a new record in the history of the league a year back. He became the first player to bag more than INR 17 crores at the auction. Only Cameron Green bagged more than INR 17 crores from the auction of the 2023 season, as Mumbai Indians bought him for the price. 

Curran was in terrific form in the T20 World Cup 2022 for England. With his bowling spells, Curran impressed everyone in the world. He helped England win their second T20 World Cup. In the final of the tournament, Curran bagged the Player of the Match award for claiming 3 wickets. Throughout the tournament, he was brilliant and was very good in different phases of the game. For his exceptional performance, Curran also received the Player of the Tournament award. Hence, he was in huge demand in the IPL auction 2023, which happened just a month or so after the completion of the tournament.

2. Pat Cummins 

Pat Cummins created history at the auction table in 2024. The Australian captain became the first player to bag a deal of more than INR 19 crores and 20 crores as a player in the league for a single edition. SRH paid him a total sum of a whopping INR 20.50 crores to play for them in a single edition, now the second-highest amount for a player in the auction. The Australian cricketer has been the talk of the town in the last month or so for everything he has achieved till now. He has been able to elevate himself as a cricketer by adding new value to his resume with each passing tournament he has been playing.

Cummins led Australia well in the year 2023. In the WTC final, Australia beat India to win the mace. In the Ashes 2023, Australia drew with England to retain the urn. In the ODI World Cup 2023, Australia shocked the world by beating India in India in front of their home crowd. As a bowler, Cummins did just enough in the tournament. But in the big game, he stepped up and led his troops well. With him being able to bat lower down the order, bowl in different phases, field extremely well with agility, and lead the side, there was an expected demand for him in the auction, and he turned out to be way too costly. 

1. Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc, like his captain, was surely going to be in demand in the auction. It so happens that some of the biggest names in the world would be in demand in the mini auctions, as the team combinations from the previous times would not have satisfied some sides. Moreover, some teams would not find it worthy to spend money on some of the players. Hence, the teams would be left with little purchases to make and a lot of money in their purse. Unique players tend to go overpriced in such cases. The case of Cummins and Starc in the auction of 2024 was a perfect example of it. 

Starc was one of the most successful bowlers in the league in his prime. In recent years, he has not lived up to expectations. But he showed that he could do the job better than most when the situation demands at the grand stage, by picking a 3-wicket haul in both the semifinal and the final of the ODI World Cup 2023. Starc is a left-arm pacer who can swing the ball away from the left-handers. He can operate at over 140 mph and can claim wickets consistently. On the wickets of Eden Gardens in Kolkata, he can be very handy. He was bought by KKR for a whopping sum of INR 24.75 crores, a new record for the highest bid in the history of the league.