Gautam Gambhir
The Delhi cricketer drew a salary of Rs 12.5 crore from his previous franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
As the captain of the franchise, Gambhir led KKR to two IPL victories and had almost become synonymous to KKR. But the left-handed batsman from Delhi was released by the franchise this year as they retained just two players i.e. Sunil Narine and Andre Russel.
Gambhir who had fixed his base price to Rs 2 crore hardly found any takers in the IPL auction, finally, he was purchased by his first IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils for just Rs 2.8 crore.
The difference in Gambhir's salary from the two years is a whopping Rs 9.7 crore. Thus, Gambhir emerged as the cricketer with the highest loss in this year's auction.
David Miller
The explosive middle-order batsman from South Africa is second on the list as he has witnessed a loss of Rs 9.5 crore from his previous year's salary in the IPL.
'Killer Miller' received a salary of Rs 12.5 crore in the previous season from Kings XI Punjab but this year he has attracted a bid of Rs 3 crore from the same franchise. Miller had set his base price to Rs 1.5 crore for this year's IPL Auction.
Miller wasn't on his explosive best in the previous season, hence the reduction in his salary.
Shikhar Dhawan
The third cricketer on this list is India opener Shikhar Dhawan. The left-handed batsman from Delhi received a salary of Rs 12.5 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous season.
But this year, he was retained by the franchise for just Rs 5.2 crore, which is less by Rs 7.3 crore. Thus, Dhawan is third on the list of players who suffered a huge loss.
Ajinkya Rahane
The right-handed batsman from Mumbai was amongst the elite players in the last season and drew a salary of Rs 9.5 crore from Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the last season.
Since RPS is no more exists as Chennai Super Kings is back after facing two-year suspension Rahane went into the auction pool.
The Mumbaikar was purchased by his previous franchise Rajasthan Royals for just Rs 4 crore. Therefore, he suffered a loss of Rs 5.5 crore this year.
Shane Watson
The former Australia all-rounder was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for staggering Rs 9.5 crore in 2017. He had a forgettable season last year and was therefore not retained by his franchise.
This year the right-handed batsman and medium pacer was been acquired by the Chennai Super Kings for Rs 4 crore. Watson will, therefore, get Rs 5.5 crore less than what he received 12 months back. He even led the RCB in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli but the team didn't fare under him.
However, Watson is one of the lucky players on whom the franchises have shown some faith in. Before the start of the IPL auctions, many feared that he might not be able to attract any bids but to their surprise, the cricketer has bagged a decent contract.
Chris Gayle
The Jamaican swashbuckler was paid Rs 7.5 crore by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the previous season. He will now be drawing a salary of Rs 2 crore from Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) which is 5.5 crore less than his previous salary.
The left-handed batsman suffered a massive setback on the first day of the auction when went unsold in the first round and many feared this is the end of IPL for the 'Universe Boss'. But to the cricketer's relief, he was later purchased by KXIP on the second day.
Yuvraj Singh
Another T20 specialist batsman and a crowd favourite Yuvraj Singh too witnessed a steep drop in his salary for the upcoming IPL season.
Yuvraj received a salary of Rs 7 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 but the out-of-form cricketer was not retained by the franchise this year.
The left-handed batsman from Punjab too had a homecoming moment when he was purchased by his first IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab. KXIP bought Yuvraj at the base price of Rs 2 crore for the upcoming season.
The 37-year-old has, therefore, witnessed a drop of Rs 5 crore in his salary as compared to last year.
Harbhajan Singh
The veteran off-spinner is the next one in the list to have suffered a loss of Rs 3.5 crore. The Turbanator who until last year played for ten consecutive years for Mumbai Indians (MI) will now be playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in this year.
Harbhajan has been purchased by Chennai at his base price i.e. Rs 2 crore in the IPL auction 2018.
Bhajji received a salary of Rs 5.5 crore from MI for year 2017 but this year he'll get Rs 3.5 crore less.