10 highest paid players in IPL history

No tournament in the history of cricket has been a greater money spinner than the Indian Premier League. Since its inception in the year 2008, the IPL has helped all those involved with it earn some big bucks, whether it is the BCCI, the sponsors, the broadcasters or the players.Over the years, the IPL auction has seen franchises shell out lots of money to acquire players required to build their respective teams. Among these, there have been certain players who have managed to fetch some highly inflated prices.Let’s take a look at the 10 highest paid players in IPL history based on the price they garnered at the auctions.

#10 Rohit Sharma - INR 9.2 crore

Franchise Name – Mumbai Indians

Year – 2011

Batting Avg – 33.8

Rohit Sharma is the skipper of the current IPL Champions Mumbai Indians and made his way into the side at the back of INR 9.2 crore deal back in the 2011 IPL auction. Sharma’s first season with the Mumbai Indians was a pretty productive one as he gave good support to ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar by scoring 372 runs in 16 matches at an impressive average of 33.81. The Indian ODI opener has not looked back since and has gone from strength to strength in the Mumbai franchise.

#9 Robin Uthappa - INR 9.66 crore

Franchise Name – Pune Warriors

Year – 2011

Batting Avg – 27

Although Robin Uthappa is presently seen as an important member of the Kolkata Knight Riders, he used to play for the now defunct Pune Warriors team earlier. At the 2011 IPL auction, Robin Uthappa fetched INR 9.66 crore as he made his way into the older Pune franchise. It was below par performance from the Karnataka batsman as he hobbled his way to 264 runs from 10 matches at an average in the mid-20s. Uthappa played another season with the Warriors until the franchise itself was removed from the IPL.

#8 Yusuf Pathan - INR 9.66 crore

Franchise Name – Kolkata Knight Riders

Year – 2011

Batting Avg – 28

The ‘Baroda bomber’ Yusuf Pathan has been one of the regular faces in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad. Pathan was picked up by his present team for a hefty sum of INR 9.66 crore at the 2011 IPL auction. Although it was not exactly a great season for the big guy, he did manage to do just enough by scoring 283 runs at an average of just over 28 and an impressive strike rate of 140 plus.

#7 Dinesh Karthik - INR 10.5 crore

Franchise Name – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Year – 2015

Batting Avg – 12.8

Dinesh Karthik is perhaps one of the top players in the IPL when it comes to representing different franchises. Last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore won a successful bid for the wicketkeeper batsman and added him to their roster for INR 10.5 crore. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disastrous one for Karthik with the bat as he could score only 141 runs at an average of just 12.81. The former Indian wicketkeeper paid the price for underperformance by being released by RCB very recently.

#6 Gautam Gambhir - INR 11.04 crore

Franchise Name – Kolkata Knight Riders

Year – 2011

Batting Avg – 36

The most successful skipper in IPL history after MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, made an entry into the Kolkata Knight Riders as a result of a stupendous $2.4 million deal, approximately 11.04 crore in INR. Ever since, he has been a leader par excellence and has led KKR to two IPL title triumphs in 2012 and 2014 respectively. In the 2011 season, Gambhir was among the best batsmen in the side as he put up an impressive run tally of 378 runs in 15 matches at an average of above 36.

#5 Suresh Raina - INR 12.5 crore

Franchise Name – Rajkot (new franchise)

Year – 2016

It is surely going to be unusual watching Suresh Raina play for a franchise other than Chennai Super Kings in the 2016 IPL. However, this has happened due to the suspension of the most successful IPL franchise for 2 years alongside the first ever champions Rajasthan Royals. One of the two new replacement franchises, which will be based at Rajkot, has picked up Raina for a mind boggling figure of INR 12.5 crore in the draft which took place exclusively for the new teams. Going by the southpaw’s record so far in IPL cricket, it may turn out to be a deal to savour for Rajkot.

#4 MS Dhoni - INR 12.5 crore

Franchise Name – Pune (new franchise)

Year – 2016

After 8 years of playing for the Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni will finally be seen representing a different franchise. The reason for this is the introduction of new teams in the IPL following the two-year suspension of CSK and the Rajasthan Royals. A draft was recently held for the two new franchises from Pune and Rajkot to pick up 5 each from among players from the two tainted franchises. Dhoni fell into Pune’s kitty for an enormous price tag of INR 12.5 crore. It remains to be seen how much India’s limited-overs skipper can live up to it.

#3 Dinesh Karthik - INR 12.5 crore

Franchise Name – Delhi Daredevils

Year – 2014

Batting Avg – 23.2

In one of the most interesting turn of events at an IPL auction, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik was lapped up for a stunning INR 12.5 crore by the Delhi Daredevils in 2014. Karthik may not have been able to keep his spot in the Indian team for too long, but he has surely been a popular character in the IPL. The wicketkeeper batsman tried his best and scored 325 runs in the 14 matches he played. But he seemingly feel short of expectations as he was left out by the Daredevils just before the 2015 IPL auction.

#2 Yuvraj Singh - INR 14 crore

Franchise Name – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Year – 2014

Batting Avg – 34

Yuvraj Singh has certainly ruled the roost at the IPL auctions in recent years. In the year 2014, the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise shelled out a then record INR 14 crore to acquire the services of the left-handed batsman. Yuvraj’s performance was pretty decent for his new franchise as he ended up being their 2nd highest run scorer behind AB de Villiers with 376 runs in 14 matches at an average of just over 34. However, it was below par considering the heavy price tag and RCB released Yuvraj Singh in the following year.

#1 Yuvraj Singh - INR 16 crore

Franchise Name – Delhi Daredevils

Year – 2015

Batting Avg – 19.7

During the 2015 IPL auction, Yuvraj Singh was picked up by the Delhi Daredevils for a whopping INR 16 crore price tag. As it turned out, it was the highest for a player at any IPL auction ever. However, the swashbuckling southpaw hardly did any justice to his hefty auction price as he could muster just 248 runs in 14 matches at a less than commendable average of 19.07. Yuvraj’s recent release by the Delhi Daredevils was perhaps the outcome of their failed investment on the hard-hitting batsman.