3 biggest steals in IPL history

The Indian Premier League has provided opportunities for many youngsters, and has also served as a valuable source of income for others. The standard of cricket been consistently high in the league, and the commitment of the franchises and their owners in spending big money to get the best players is a major reason for that.

But there have also been occasions of teams signing players for low cost, only to see them become stars for the team. Here, we look at the 3 biggest steals in IPL history.

Note: Only the players who cost less than INR 1 crore at time of buying have been considered

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#3 Sohail Tanvir, Rajasthan Royals, 2008 (USD 100,000 = INR 40 Lakh approx)

The Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals had a great season in the inaugural edition of IPL, and they ended up lifting the trophy. Yusuf Pathan was their all-round hero, and their batsmen as well as bowlers contributed heavily in their campaign.

One great inclusion in the team was Sohail Tanvir, who won the Purple Cap for picking up most wickets that season. His stats were simply phenomenal as he picked up 22 wickets in 11 matches, averaging an exceptional 12.09 with a great economy rate of 6.46.

Tanvir hasn't been allowed to play in the IPL since then, as the BCCI imposed restrictions on Pakistani players playing in the league. But for that price, Tanvir was an absolute steal for the Rajasthan Royals in 2008.

#2- Shaun Marsh, Kings XI Punjab, 2008 (USD 30,000 = INR 12 Lakh approx.)

Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh won the Orange Cap in IPL 2008 and was simply phenomenal that season. He has been an extremely consistent player all these years, and has had an illustrious IPL career. He has scored 2477 runs in 69 innings averaging a brilliant 39.95 with a decent strike rate of 132.74.

Marsh has often been a lone ranger for the Kings XI Punjab, and he surprised everyone with his run scoring spree considering he was bought for just USD 30,000. He slammed 616 runs in the 2008 season averaging 68.44, and was certainly a steal at the auction.

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#1 Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2008 (USD 30,000 = INR 12 Lakh approx.)

Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman in the world right now, and his IPL career hasn't been bad at all. He has scored 4948 runs in 155 innings averaging 38.35 scoring at a strike rate of 130.76.

Kohli has been retained by the RCB for huge sums of money on a lot of occasions, but was initially bought by them in 2008 for the meager sum of 30,000 US dollars. He has continued to play for the side every year since then.

Kohli didn't have a great time in the first three seasons but has been extremely consistent after that. In fact, in the last three seasons, he has scored 1811 runs in 40 matches averaging an impressive 54.87 and scoring at a great strike rate of 142.26.

Kohli is certainly the biggest steal of them all.