10 highest successful bids in IPL auction history

The 2016 IPL Auction was held in Bangalore on February 6, 2016 (Image courtesy: BCCI)The ninth Indian Premier League (IPL) auction took place on February 6, 2016, in Bangalore and franchises battled hard against each other to earn the services of the best available players. Of the 351 players who were available on the auction list, 94 of them were sold. 66 Indian players and 28 overseas players were sold on the day of the auction to take the total spending to 136,00,00,000.This amount was more than 1.5 times the money that was spent during the 2015 IPL auction where87,60,00,000 was spent. The reason for such an increase in expenditure could be explained by the two new teams the Rising Pune SuperGiants and the Gujarat Lions who had only five players on their roster before the start of the auction.Two uncapped players made the top ten of the most expensive players in the 2016 auction, showing the risk that franchises were ready to take on young and inexperienced players.IPL 9 will take place from April 9, 2016, to May 29, 2016, following the completion of the 2016 ICC World T20 which is being held in India. The franchises will hope that the players they purchased will live up to their billing and help their respective teams in staking a claim for the coveted IPL crown.There were a few surprise buys in the auction who went for more money than expected, just like it has been happening over the years in IPL auctions.Here we take a look at ten of the most successful bids in the history of IPL auctions, since the first one in 2008. The list is made as per the bid amounts in crore rupees. Hence, there might be a few surprising exclusions due to the dollar-rupee exchange rate having changed drastically in the last eight years.

#10 Rohit Sharma - 9,13,00,000 (Mumbai Indians - 2011)

The tenth highest successful bid was for India's dangerous limited-overs opener, Rohit Sharma when he was bought by the Mumbai Indians for big money in the 2011 IPL Auction. The 28-year-old was picked up for ten times his base price at the time.

Rohit had played the previous three seasons for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers and performed very well in his time there. Having won the 2009 edition of the IPL with the Chargers, the Mumbai Indians were getting a winner in Rohit and an added incentive of playing for his hometown. In his three seasons at the Chargers, Rohit played 44 innings and scored 1170 runs at an average of 30.78 and a strike rate of 131.46.

Although the amount of money spent might have been a lot at the time, Rohit thrived in the Mumbai Indians set-up as he performed much better with a higher average, even scoring his first T20 hundred. He captained the Indians to their first IPL win in the 2015 edition, beating MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings.

#9 Shane Watson - 9,50,00,000 (Royal Challengers Bangalore - 2016)

It was a surprise when neither of Rising Pune SuperGiants or Gujarat Lions went for the mercurial Australian all-rounder in the IPL Draft. This meant that any of the eight franchises could try and earn his services in the IPL Auction, and that is exactly what happened as Watson emerged as the most expensive player in the recently concluded auction going to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for 9,50,00,000.

Watson will be playing for only his second franchise in the IPL after having played the last eight seasons for the suspended Rajasthan Royals. The 34-year-old won the first ever IPL in 2008 and has been a consistent performer in the T20 league.

In 76 innings that Watson has played in the IPL, he has scored 2372 runs at an average of 36.49 and a strike rate of 141.27 with two hundreds to his name. He also has 61 wickets to his name at a healthy average of 27.88, underlining the all-round abilities he possesses.

RCB will be hoping that their quest to win their first IPL crown will finally come to fruition with their acquisition of Watson, who can be a phenomenal influence with both bat and ball.

#8 Yusuf Pathan - 9,60,00,000 (Kolkata Knight Riders - 2011)

Yusuf Pathan was another big-money signing in the 2011 IPL Auction as Kolkata Knight Riders went all out to get the Indian all-rounder. Yusuf was sold for a price that was seven times his base price, showing how bad the Shah Rukh owned-franchise wanted the man from Baroda.

In the three seasons before 2011, Yusuf played for the Rajasthan Royals and was phenomenal for the Royals as he helped his side to the inaugural IPL title in 2008. His innings of 100 off 37 balls in the first match of the 2010 IPL season was, arguably, his best T20 innings ever, although it was in a losing cause. This innings grabbed the attention of all the franchises in the following auction, and thus resulted in him moving to Kolkata, where he has been ever since.

Including the 2008 IPL title under his belt, Yusuf has two more IPL crowns to his name as KKR won in 2012 and 2014, where the 33-year-old had a definite impact and played some match-winning innings.

#7 Robin Uthappa - 9,60,00,000 (Pune Warriors India - 2011)

Following a very good season in IPL 2010, Robin Uthappa was hot property during the IPL Auction in 2011, and the franchises recognised this and bid big for the wicketkeeper-batsman from Karnataka.

It was quite a surprise when RCB did not retain the local lad after he scored 374 runs in 16 games in the 2010 IPL season, scoring at a strike rate of 171.55 with four fifties to his name.

Newly formed franchise, Pune Warriors India went all out to get Uthappa as they finally secured him for 9,60,00,000. The 30-year-old played three seasons for PWI until they were dissolved after the 2013 IPL season.

#6 Ravindra Jadeja - 10,00,00,000 (Chennai Super Kings - 2012)

As a 23-year-old, Ravindra Jadeja was the highest successful bid during the 2012 IPL Auction as the now-suspended Chennai Super Kings secured the services of the talented all-rounder after newly formed franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala was terminated.

In the seasons before 2012, Jadeja was mainly used by Rajasthan Royals and KTK as a batsman, however, MS Dhoni started using the man from Saurashtra primarily as a bowler. Jadeja proved this in his very second match for CSK as he picked up 5/16 in four overs, but not before he also top-scored for his side in the same match displaying his all-round talent and justifying the amount that was spent on him.

#5 Dinesh Karthik - 10,50,00,000 (Royal Challengers Bangalore - 2015)

After a disappointing performance by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2014 edition of the IPL, the Vijay Mallya-owned side were looking to reinvigorate their side for the 2015 season.

The highest successful bid for RCB in the 2015 auction was that of wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, who had played for Delhi Daredevils in the 2014 season. Karthik had scored 325 runs in 14 games for the Daredevils. RCB were hoping for a similar performance from the 30-year-old to help their aim to get the title.

Although RCB reached the playoffs, Karthik did not play very well as he managed to score only 141 runs at an average of 12.81, which was his worst ever performance in an IPL season. This was probably one of the most overpriced buys of the 2015 auction, considering how poorly Karthik performed.

#4 Gautam Gambhir - 11,00,00,000 (Kolkata Knight Riders - 2011)

Before this year's IPL auction, the 2011 auction was one of the highest spending ones as that season had also had two new teams – Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. However, the team that spent big on players were the Kolkata Knight Riders as they invested heavily in making upgrades to their side.

After buying Yusuf Pathan for big money, KKR went big as they made the highest successful bid of the 2011 auction when they bought Indian opener Gautam Gambhir for a whopping 11,00,00,000.

KKR appointed Gambhir as the captain and paid the fruits of their investment as he led them to the playoffs in 2011 and the IPL title in 2012 and 2014. In 77 games for KKR, Gambhir has scored over 2000 runs and has 18 fifties to his name.

#3 Dinesh Karthik - 12,50,00,000 (Delhi Daredevils - 2014)

Making the list for the second time, Dinesh Karthik's acquisition by Delhi Daredevils in 2014 was the third highest successful bid for a player in an IPL auction. The Daredevils had a horrible IPL season in 2013 as they finished bottom of the table.

This prompted them to buy Karthik, who was one of 2013's best performers as he had scored 510 matches in 19 matches and came up with the goods on a regular basis for the Indians. However, Karthik could not match his form from the 2013 season as he scored 325 runs in 14 matches. In addition, Daredevils once again finished bottom of the table in 2014, despite having retained none of their players and got a fresh-looking team.

Both the times that Karthik went for big money, he was not able to help his sides perform on a higher level than they did in the preceding seasons.

#2 Yuvraj Singh - 14,00,00,000 (Royal Challengers Bangalore - 2014)

It is no surprise that Yuvraj Singh is one of the most sought after players in the T20 format, even at the age of 34, as was seen in the 2016 IPL Auction. Sunrisers Hyderabad got the all-rounder from Punjab for 7,00,00,000 showing how highly teams rate him.

In the 2014 IPL Auction, the Royal Challengers made the then biggest scoop ever (in crore rupees) as they paid a mammoth 14,00,00,000 for Yuvraj. After having led and impressed with Pune Warriors India in 2011 and 2013, Yuvraj became available after PWI folded.

Even though RCB finished only 7th in the 2014 IPL, Yuvraj had a fairly good tournament as he scored 376 runs at an average of 34.18 and a strike rate of 135.25. Surprisingly, RCB did not retain Yuvraj after the end of the seventh IPL edition.

#1 Yuvraj Singh - 16,00,00,000 (Delhi Daredevils - 2015)

Making the top of the list of highest successful bids is, unsurprisingly, Yuvraj Singh as in the 2015 auction, the Delhi Daredevils broke the record set by RCB in the 2014 auction. The Daredevils bought Yuvraj for 16,00,00,000, a good 2,00,00,000 more than what RCB had paid in 2014.

However, Yuvraj was not able to perform like he did for RCB in the 2014 season and probably had his worst season in 2015 as he averaged only 19.07. Delhi finished seventh in the table and had another disappointing season despite having bought a highly-rated all-rounder for big money.

On analysis, we see that not a single bowler makes the list of the top ten highest successful bids in IPL history as the list is dominated by batsmen and all-rounders. This represents what T20 cricket is all about – a batsman's game.

Another observation that can be noted is that not all the big-money signings helped their employers get a return on their investment, probably proving that it's not all about the money and sometimes it does not matter how much players are paid.