India's cricket league, or Indian Premier League for the uninitiated, is a league second to none in regards to high-octane action and considerable big-money deals. This has been the circumstance of the league since its inception in 2008. Every season, players begin selling for jaw-dropping numbers as it sets new benchmarks every year. The intense bidding for the most coveted players in the auctioning of the IPL was very intense—from emerging stars to more prominent names in the cricketing world. In this article, we look at the most expensive players across the entire Indian Premier League, from the launch year of 2008 and up to the end of the 2024 season, and view returns on investment in terms of performance. 2008: MS Dhoni (9.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN The first Indian T20 League auction saw 'Captain Cool' MS Dhoni mint a whopping Rs 9.5 crore bid courtesy of Chennai Super Kings (CSK). This was the start of Dhoni's golden journey with the franchise, and the legacy in the tournament witnessed a change because this team went on to start their own era in the league. Also Read | Nicknames Of Indian Cricketers: Discovering the Stories Behind It 2009: Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff (9.8 cr) Image Source: ESPN The 2009 auction saw a bidding war for the biggest English stars, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. Together, they drew a total of Rs 9.8 crore—a price that would usher in Pietersen to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Flintoff to Chennai Super Kings. 2010: Shane Bond and Kieron Pollard (4.8 cr) Image Source: ESPN Shane Bond and Kieron Pollard were the costliest players in the auction process of the 2010 Indian T20 League. Both were sold at Rs. 4.8 crore. Shane Bond is an orthodox fast bowler from New Zealand. He was much in demand because of his prized wicket-taking performances, which proved match winners at times. Kolkata Knight Riders won the netted battle for his services as they needed him to strengthen their pace department. On the other hand, there was Kieron Pollard, an all-rounder from the West Indies; forceful and gigantic attention was on him, as he generally has got really explosive skills in his big hitting along with his all-round qualities to give a big change to the Mumbai Indians at last being purchased by intense bidding. Both the players were considered assets for their respective teams. 2011: Gautam Gambhir (14.9 cr) Image Source: ESPN Gautam Gambhir was the costliest in this 2011 auction and was first quoted at Rs 14.9 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders. Gambhir justified this gigantic investment as he helped KKR win numerous T20 League titles, one of the most successful captains to date in Indian T20 League history. 2012: Ravindra Jadeja (12.8 cr) Image Source: ESPN That year, Ravishing all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja stole the headlines after Chennai Super Kings spent Rs 12.8 crore on his call-up. Jadeja went on to prove why CSK shelled out such a huge amount by delivering consistent performances with bat and ball. 2013: Glenn Maxwell (6.3 cr) Image Source: Times Now The costliest man sold in the Indian T20 League 2013 was Glenn Maxwell, who was acquired by the Mumbai Indians for Rs. 6.3 crore during attention from other teams where the Mumbai Indians outbid the rest, hoping that the aggressive style of batting by Maxwell would strengthen their batting lineup and could make them win a few matches and an edge over the remaining matches. 2014: Yuvraj Singh (14 cr) Image Source: ESPN The 'King of Sixes,' Yuvraj Singh, was the most invited player in both the 2014 and 2015 auctions. Royal Challengers Bangalore spent Rs 14 crore to acquire his services. 2015: Yuvraj Singh (16 cr) Image Source: ESPN For the 2015 season, Delhi Daredevils spent a fortune going all out to get the World Cup winner. Yuvraj, though, could not repeat the form that did well for him at RCB in 2015. 2016: Shane Watson (9.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN Shane Watson, the Australian all-rounder, fetched a heavy Rs 9.5 crore in an auction carried out by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 auction. His explosive batting along with his handy bowling turn him into a great asset for the franchise. 2017: Ben Stokes (14.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN Ben Stokes shredded the rate card to ribbons at the Indian T20 League auctions both in 2017 and 2018. Rising Pune Supergiant splurged an unbelievable Rs 14.5 to sign up the English all-rounder. 2018: Ben Stokes (12.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN He scored 316 runs and took 12 wickets in the 2017 season, which propelled the Rajasthan Royals to go for his services in 2018. They paid a mammoth Rs 12.5 crore for the Englishman's services. Unfortunately for RR, Stokes could not carry forward his form from the preview season. Also Read | Top 6 Youngest Cricketers in Indian Cricket History | Teen Sensations 2019: Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Chakravarthy (8.4 Cr) Image Source: ESPN In the 2019 auction, there were some surprise bids as Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy emerged as joint costliest players, who were hammered to Rs 8.4 crore each by Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), respectively. 2020: Pat Cummins (15.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN The most expensive purchase in the history of the Indian T20 League was Australian pacer Pat Cummins in 2020. Kolkata Knight Riders spent a whopping Rs 15.5 crore to buy Cummins, and he became the most expensive overseas player ever in the Indian T20 League. 2021: Chris Morris (16.25 cr) Image Source: ESPN South African all-rounder Chris Morris stole the show in the 2021 auction. Rajasthan Royals splurged Rs 16.25 crore to buy Morris—a record they broke that day to become the costliest player in Indian T20 League history. 2022: Ishan Kishan (15.25 cr) Image Source: ESPN Ishan Kishan, the young Indian wicketkeeper batsman, could well become the flavor of the 2022 auction. The Mumbai Indians ensured the services of this promising boy, Ishan Kishan, for a whopping Rs 15.25 crore, marking faith that the franchise puts on his potential. 2023: Sam Curran (18.5 cr) Image Source: ESPN The costliest player in the 2023 auction is all-rounder Sam Curran, who was sold to the Punjab Kings for a whopping price of Rs 18.5 crore. He is one of the most valuable cricketers that any franchise would look forward to having, as he can perform in all departments of the game. 2024: Mitchell Starc (24.75 cr) Image Source: ESPN In the year 2024, Australian speedster Mitchell Starc created all records and turned out to be the costliest player in the history of the Indian T20 League. It was an earth-shattering Rs 24.75 crore that the Kolkata Knight Riders spent to hand the services of the speedster. This made headlines across the cricketing world. Conclusion Lastly, the IPL has seen the biggest record-breaking bids for its players in the last few years. Such massive talents justify the investments made by their teams in them. The period between 2008 and 2024 saw such talented personalities become part of the game while reaping the biggest paychecks. With time passing by, we can look forward to even more exciting auctions and even higher bids in the future, which shall further make IPL solid in its stance as one of the grand cricket spectacles in the world.