IPL 2022: Most expensive overseas players in the tournament

IPL 2022 schedule starts at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will take on last season's runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans are the two new IPL 2022 teams in the fold and almost all the squads have been revamped. There will be 70 league matches and four IPL playoff games played in 65 days across the two cities - Mumbai and Pune.

A lot of money was splurged at the mega auctions and plenty of focus will be on the new players from different teams.

Here, we take a look at the top 5 most expensive overseas players in the IPL over the years:

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5.) Glenn Maxwell: Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs. 14.25 crore)

Glenn Maxwell had a fantastic season for RCB

Despite having an underwhelming IPL 2020, Royal Challengers Bangalore took a big gamble when they splurged Rs.14.25 crore on Glenn Maxwell in 2021.

There was a fierce bidding war between RCB and KKR, and when the final hammer was dropped, Bangalore picked up Maxwell for Rs.14.25 crore.

This did yield dividends as Maxwell emerged as RCB’s highest run-getter with 513 runs at a strike rate of 144.10. He was retained by RCB for Rs. 11 crore.

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4.) Ben Stokes: Rising Pune Supergiant (Rs. 14.5 crore)

Ben Stokes was sensational for Pune in the IPL

England all-rounder Ben Stokes is the perfect player for T20s and this was reflected in his price tag when he was up for grabs at the auction. At the 2017 auction, the now-defunct side Rising Pune Supergiant roped him in for Rs. 14.5 crore.

The England all-rounder justified his price tag - as he finished the campaign with the third-best average for the franchise with 316 runs in 12 games at 31.60. He also scored the only ton for Pune and then complimented it with 12 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 7.18.

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3.) Kyle Jamieson: Royal Challengers Bangalore (Rs. 15 crore)

After having a superb first year in international cricket for New Zealand, Kyle Jamieson was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 15 crore in 2020.

However, the Kiwi star did not have an entirely memorable campaign as he could only pick up nine wickets in nine games at an average of 29.88 and an economy rate of 9.60. Due to this mixed bag performance, he was released by RCB ahead of this year's mega auction.

Click here to view the IPL 2022 venue.

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2.) Pat Cummins: Kolkata Knight Riders (Rs. 15.5 crore)

KKR broke the bank for Pat Cummins

Australia's current Test captain Pat Cummins was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs.15.5 crore in IPL 2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals started a bidding war for Cummins, but KKR swooped in to seal the deal.

Cummins had a mixed bag for KKR as he picked up 12 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 7.86. In the 2021 season, he bagged nine wickets in seven games at an average of 26.33. He will once again be a part of the Kolkata-based team this season.

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1.) Chris Morris: Rajasthan Royals (Rs 16.25 crore)

Chris Morris had an underwhelming IPL campaign for Rajasthan

The South African all-rounder has always been a hot property in the IPL. There was an intense bidding war between the Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings ahead of the IPL 2021 auction. He was eventually bought by the Royals for a massive Rs. 16.25 crore.

He did not have an entirely memorable campaign for Rajathan - he averaged 13.40 with the bat and picked up 15 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 9.17.