IPL Auction 2018: 6 capped players who earned more crores than their number of international games

For a decade, the IPL has been acting as a springboard to launch young careers, with several current cricketers having polished their skills in the midst of big names. The money involved is huge, and big names don't always matter, with relative unknowns pocketing huge paychecks in the past.

Here are six players who, in the IPL 2018 auction, pocketed more crore rupees than the number of international games they have played.

Note: The list includes only players bought during the auctions, and does not take into account Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, who were retained by their respective franchises.

#6 Shardul Thakur - Rs. 2.6 crores (Experience: 2 ODIs)

The right-arm pacer has been on the fringes of a spot in the playing XI since 2015 but did not make his international debut until last year, when he got to play two matches in Sri Lanka in an ODI series. His maiden game saw him receive some flak from die-hard Sachin Tendulkar fans, who could not fathom how he donned the No.10 jersey, associated with the Team India legend, following which the number was retired by the BCCI.

Having played for the Rising Pune Supergiant last year, Thakur was chosen by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 2.6 Cr, as part of a long list of pace bowlers poached by the franchise.

He has, in 13 IPL games, picked up 12 wickets.

#5 Mohammed Siraj - Rs. 2.6 crores (Experience: 2 T20Is)

Siraj has been picked by RCB this time

The rags-to-riches story of Mohammed Siraj was one of the talking points of the 2017 IPL auctions when the son of an auto-rickshaw driver bagged a Rs. 2.6 Crore deal with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The road after that has been gradual but fruitful, and he finally realised his dream when he was chosen to play for India against New Zealand last year.

Although he couldn't give the best impression of himself, picking only two wickets in as many games, he bagged yet another big deal in the IPL auctions this year, when he was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the same amount as 2017, and will now rub shoulders with the likes of Virat Kohli (his first India captain), AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum.

#4 Sandeep Sharma - Rs. 3 crores (Experience: 2 T20Is)

Sandeep has been a consistent performer for KXIP

Sandeep Sharma was quite a rage in the 2012 U-19 World Cup, where he finished as the leading wicket-taker for India, as well as for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL from 2013-2015, where he picked up a total of 39 wickets.

An effective death bowler who is also lethal at the start of the innings with his prodigious movement, Sandeep was picked for the Indian team on their tour to Zimbabwe in 2015 and played a total of 2 T20Is before being left in the wilderness. Before that, stress fractures on his back had stalled his progress.

Now part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sandeep Sharma will be looking forward to life in a new franchise, having played for Punjab from 2011 to 2017.

#3 Washinton Sundar - Rs. 3.2 crores (Experience: 1 ODI, 1 T20I)

Sundar grabbed eyeballs with his bowling last year

The 18-year-old gained national recognition during the 2016 U-19 World Cup, but those following his exploits at the junior levels in Tamil Nadu are well aware of his all-round expertise for quite a few years now.

He impressed MS Dhoni and Steve Smith during his maiden IPL stint with the Rising Pune Supergiant, bowling miserly spells at the top, and while he did not get enough opportunities to bat, his off-spin helped him break into the Indian team for the series against Sri Lanka late last year, when he played one ODI and one T20I.

"I am delighted to have been picked up by RCB. I am a big fan of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. It will be a priceless experience to play with them after having played alongside MS Dhoni for Pune Supergiant last year," Washington seems ready for a bright future.

#2 Karn Sharma - Rs. 5 crores (Experience: 1 Test, 2 ODIs, 1 T20I)

Karn Sharma played international cricket in 2014

In Virat Kohli's first ever Test as India skipper, much to some people's amazement, the management decided to field a leg-spinner in place of Ravichandran Ashwin at Adelaide. Karn Sharma was a known entity by then, having been purchased by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 3.75 crores in the auctions that year.

He also got to make his ODI and T20I debut in 2014 but hasn't been able to add to his tally of four international games ever since.

Karn has been one of IPL's most consistent leg-spinners in the last few years. He was first snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 but did not play his first game until 2013, when he played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Barring 2016, when he could not return with a wicket from five games, Karn has picked up at least 10 wickets in every season from 2013-2017.

#1 Sanju Samson - Rs. 8 crores (Experience - 1 T20I)

Samson will return to play for Rajasthan

MS Dhoni is still as fit as a fiddle, which has made the progress of any other wicket-keeper to the Indian team fairly difficult. As Dhoni's successor, Kerala keeper Sanju Samson's name has been doing the rounds for a while now.

Samson first rose to prominence when he batted with maturity way ahead of his years during the 2014 IPL, while playing for the Rajasthan Royals. All of 19 then, he scored 339 runs at a strike-rate of 124.17, and the following year he was picked for India's tour to Zimbabwe.

After playing just one T20I, Samson was offloaded and hasn't played an international game ever since. His form in the IPL returned last year when he scored a whirlwind 102 for Delhi last year and was the most expensive wicket-keeper in the 2018 auctions, poached by his former franchise Rajasthan for a whopping Rs. 8 crores.