IPL: The cost of each run scored by the top 5 highest run-getters in the tournament's history

Since its inaugural edition in 2008, the Indian Premier League has been the greatest platform for budding cricketers across the globe to showcase their talent and hog the limelight.

Besides being an entertainer par excellence, IPL has also been the biggest earning stage for cricketers around the world. Auctions every season are only getting bigger. During the inaugural auctions, MS Dhoni fetched Rs. 6 crores to become the highest paid cricketer of the season. The figure has almost been tripled when Virat Kohli was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping sum of Rs.17 crore for the eleventh edition of the tournament.

Most of the highest earned cricketers in the history of the tournament are only the leading Indian cricketers. Almost every single time they lived up to their massive billing as all the top 5 highest run-getters are also the big names in Indian cricket.

On that note, let us now take a look at the cost of each run scored by the top 5 highest run-getters in the history of the tournament.

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#5 Robin Uthappa - 1.75 Lakhs/Run

Robin Uthappa is a stylish batsman

Robin Uthappa has become one of the most prominent figures in the Indian Premier League with his free-flowing stroke play. He has been a part of this showpiece event since its inaugural edition in 2008. The right-hander has represented Mumbai Indians in 2008 and RCB in 2009 before being bought by Pune Warriors in 2011. The 33-year-old moved to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and has been representing them since then

The elegant batsman is currently the fifth highest run-getter in the tournament. He has thus far played 165 IPL matches, scoring 4129 runs at an average of 28.67 and a strike rate of 131.71. In terms of earnings from the tournament, Utthapa takes number nine with total earnings of INR 72.27 crores.

Thus Uthappa has fetched INR 1.75 lakhs for each run he scored in the tournament. The Karnataka batsman has been retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 6.4 crores this season.

#4 Gautam Gambhir - 2.24 Lakhs/Run

Gautam Gambhir is a KKR legend

The former team India opener, Gautam Gambhir, started his IPL stint with his home franchise Delhi Daredevils in 2008 and represented them until 2010 before being roped in by KKR in 2011. In his 11-year IPL career, he led KKR in 128 matches and won 71 of them for his team to become one of the most successful captains in the history of the tournament.

The 37-year-old has featured in 154 IPL matches in his career, scoring 4218 runs at an average of 31.01 and a strike rate of 123.91. At the time of his retirement last year, he was the fourth highest leading run scorer of the Indian T20 League. He is also the fourth highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL with a total salary of INR 94.62 crores.

Thus the former KKR skipper was paid INR 2.24 lakhs for each run came off his bat.

#3 Rohit Sharma - 2.59 Lakhs/Run

Rohit Sharma playing the scoop shot

Like Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma has also been performing consistently in the marquee tournament. Rohit started his IPL stint with Deccan Chargers in 2008 and was transferred to Mumbai Indians in 2011. After being made the captain in 2013, the Mumbaikar led his team to three IPL titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017. With 51 wins in 78 matches, Rohit is the second most successful captain after Dhoni in the history of the tourney.

The Nagpur-born cricketer has thus far played 173 IPL matches, scoring 4493 runs at an average of 31.87 and a strike rate of 131.03. In terms of runs, he is the third highest run-getter in the tournament. When it comes to earnings in IPL, he stands second in the list with INR 116.8 crores.

Thus the 31-year-old was paid INR 2.6 lakhs for each run he scored in the tournament. The elegant right-hander has been retained by Mumbai Indians for INR 15 crores for IPL 2019.

#2 Virat Kohli - 2.2 Lakhs/Run

Virat Kohli is an elite batsman

Undoubtedly the best batsman across the formats in world cricket, Virat Kohli came to the limelight when he led the Indian U-19 World Cup winning team in 2008. The right-hander was included in the RCB squad in 2008 and was made the captain of the side in the year 2013.

In the 2016 season, the Delhi-born cricketer shattered the record for leading run-scorers list scoring 973 runs that season to win the Orange Cap. In the same season, he has racked up 4 tons to become the second most number of centuries for a batsman in the history of the tournament.

At present, the RCB skipper is the second highest leading run-scorer of the tournament as he has thus amassed 4948 runs at an excellent average of 38.36 and a strike rate of 130.76. The 30-year-old is currently the third highest paid cricketer in the history of IPL with INR 109.2 crores.

Thus Kohli was paid INR 2.2 lakhs for each run he has scored in the tournament. He has been retained by RCB for INR 17 crores for the upcoming IPL season.

#1 Suresh Raina - 1.78 Lakhs/Run

Suresh Raina is an IPL legend

Without a shadow of a doubt, Suresh Raina has been the most consistent performer of the Indian annual showpiece franchise event, the Indian Premier League. Currently, the Chennai Super Kings star batsman is the leading run-scorer of the tournament.

The southpaw has thus far scored 4985 runs in 172 innings. He scored them at a decent average of 34.38 and a strike rate of 138.43. Except for the 2015 and 2016 IPL seasons, Raina has scored in excess of 400 runs in all the other seasons.

The Uttar Pradesh born cricketer stands at number five in the list of highest earned cricketers in the history of IPL. Raina has thus far bagged INR 88.74 crores from IPL.

Thus Raina has earned Rs. 1.78 lakhs for each run he scored. Raina has been retained by Chennai Super Kings for INR 11 crores this season.

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