The IPL 2026 auction is only a few days away and as many as 1355 players have registered for it. The IPL retentions have already been named by all teams, and is as is the case with mini-auctions, there could be massive prices reached for a player, who sparks a bidding war between teams.
Last year, it was all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, who was eventually sold for 23.75 cr to KKR, while Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history, as he was sold to LSG for 27 cr. But it must be said, that this price has gone exponentially high after nearly two decades.
In fact, there is a big contrast between the salaries players drew in the first few seasons, to now. So, it is only fair that InsideSport takes a look at the most expensive players from each IPL season.
Most Expensive Players in IPL
| Player | Year | Price |
|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni (CSK) | 2008 | INR 9.5 cr |
| Kevin Pietersen (RCB) Andrew Flintoff (CSK) | 2009 | INR 9.8 cr |
| Shane Bond (KKR) Keiron Pollard (MI) | 2010 | INR 4.8 cr |
| Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 2011 | INR 14.9 cr |
| Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) | 2012 | INR 12.8 cr |
| Glenn Maxwell (MI) | 2013 | INR 6.3 cr |
| Yuvraj Singh (RCB) | 2014 | INR 14 cr |
| Yuvraj Singh (DD) | 2015 | INR 16 cr |
| Shane Watson (RCB) | 2016 | INR 9.5 cr |
| Ben Stokes (RPS) | 2017 | INR 14.5 cr |
| Ben Stokes (RR) | 2018 | INR 12.5 cr |
| Jaydev Unadkat (RR) Varun Chakravarthy (KKR) | 2019 | INR 8.4 cr |
| Pat Cummins (KKR) | 2020 | INR 15.5 cr |
| Chris Morris (RR) | 2021 | INR 16.25 cr |
| Ishan Kishan (MI) | 2022 | INR 15.25 cr |
| Sam Curran | 2023 | INR 18.5 cr |
| Mitchell Starc | 2024 | INR 24.75 cr |
| Rishabh Pant | 2025 | INR 27 cr |
