5 most expensive players cumulatively in IPL history

The slogan on the IPL trophy says “Where talent meets opportunity”. The prestigious tournament has proved to be a career-changing platform for numerous players who otherwise probably wouldn’t have reached those heights. Not just Indian players, overseas players also have earned name and fame by performing in the tournament.

The cash-rich league has ensured that those hundreds of cricketers, who could not make it to the final eleven of the national side, also get an opportunity to showcase their talents. Great performances brought great bucks.

Here is a look at the players who have been cumulatively the most expensive in the IPL history:

#Note: The bidding was done earlier in USD and from the 7th season it was changed to INR.

5. Brendon McCullum

The former Kiwi skipper is one of those players who are tailor made for the T20 format. He set the IPL on fire from the very first innings of the first season. He scored a mammoth 158 runs off just 73 balls including 10 fours and 13 sixes. His innings really provided IPL the kind of impact the tournament needed at the start.

In the inaugural season, KKR picked him for a bid of $700,000. He played the first 3 seasons for the team. In 2011, Kochi Tuskers Kerala took him for $475,000. The team was alive only for one season. KKR then bought him back for the 5th and 6th season at a price of $900,000.

CSK then brought him in for Rs. 3.25 crores and he played his 2 best seasons there. Recently he has been transferred to the Gujarat Lions for Rs. 7.5 crores. He might have retired from international cricket but he is still good enough to make big money.

4. Ravindra Jadeja

The handy all-rounder is a prominent member of the Indian squad in all the three formats. He possesses tremendous control with the ball and makes useful contribution with the bat down the order. He burst onto the big scene in the first season when he played for the Rajasthan Royals. Shane Warne referred to him as Rockstar and played a pivotal role in the victory of the team.

He played first two seasons for RR and was a rather an unknown commodity when he was first picked up. He suffered a ban from the third season due to some contract irregularity issue. But then he made a comeback in the 4th season when Kochi grabbed him for $950,000.

His biggest bid came in the 5th season when CSK bought him for a whopping $2 million. He played there for 4 seasons until CSK got banned. In the recent transfers, he moved to Gujarat Lions for another big price of Rs. 9.5 crores.

3. Robin Uthappa

He is certainly one of the most underused cricketers of India. His performances in the IPL over the years have proved that he deserves more chances than he got in the national side. He has the gift of timing in his shots and all the elegance of a right-hander.

Mumbai Indians were the team to pick him in the first season for $800,000. He played just one season for them and was traded to RCB for the next 2 seasons. Pune Warriors India, the new franchise that emerged in the 4th season took him for a massive bid of $2.1 million. After the shutdown of PWI, he was grasped by KKR for Rs. 5 crores. Since then he has been an icon player for the team.

2. Dinesh Karthik

The wicket-keeper batsman from Tamil Nadu has travelled a lot and played for 6 different teams so far since the inception of IPL. He has been in and out of the Indian side and has been considered widely as a backup of MS Dhoni. But such is the fitness of MS that he could never become a regular in the squad.

Initially, he was picked by Delhi Daredevils for $525,000 and he played 3 seasons for them. Then KXIP took him for $900,000. For the next 2 seasons he was traded to Mumbai but the price was not revealed. It is believed that the deal was for over Rs. 10 crores.

After playing 2 seasons for MI, he was bought by Delhi at a huge bid of $2.08 million. Then RCB increased his money bank when they offered him Rs. 10.5 crores. He did not have a pretty good season for them and so his price dropped to Rs. 2.3 crores when Gujarat picked him for the 9th season.

1. Yuvraj Singh

He is one of the most loved cricketers by the fans across the cricketing globe. He is a top contributor for Indian cricket for so many years which is certainly reflected in every auction.

In the 1st season, he was recognized as one of the five icon players who were set to receive a huge amount of money. He played the first 3 seasons for the KXIP. In the 4th season, PWI offered him a huge sum of $1.8 million.

He missed the 5th season due to cancer but made a comeback in the 6th. Then the 7th season saw him being selected him by RCB for $2.33 million. After playing one season for them, DD took him for a higher bid of $2.67 million making him the most expensive player of all time in the IPL. In the 9th season, he has moved to the Sun Risers Hyderabad for Rs. 7 crores.