IPL 2020: Most expensive players in each IPL auction from 2008 to 2019

1. IPL 2008: MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings went all out for Dhoni, who was by then a sensation in cricketing circles after leading India to victory in the inaugural ICC World T20 a year ago in South Africa. The Chennai outfit signed Dhoni for a record USD 1.5 million then and it was the beginning of a special relationship. Since then the Chennaiites have accepted Dhoni as one of their own, now as the ‘Thala.' Dhoni too considers Chennai as his second home.

2. IPL 2009: Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings splurged USD 1.55 million each for Englishmen Kevin Pitersen and Andrew Flintoff respectively. Pietersen was appointed as the RCB captain but he had a modest season with the bat, scoring just 93 runs from six matches and left the IPL because of international commitments. Flintoff too had a miserable season with CSK owing to injuries and played just three matches. RCB was later captained by Anil Kumble and reached the final.

3. IPL 2010: Kieron Pollard, Shane Bond

There was a cap of USD 0.75 million on individual players in this mini-auction and only 11 players were picked up. Mohammed Kaif was the lone Indian to be drafted in by a team - Kings XI Punjab. Mumbai Indians picked West Indian Kieron Pollard and Kolkata Knight Riders bagged Kiwi pacer Shane Bond for the said amount. Pollard then became a permanent feature of MI set-up but Bond had an average season due to injuries and was retired from IPL after the IPL 2010.

4. IPL 2011: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir was having a good season as India opener and it reflected in the bidding for him. Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out USD 2.4 million to acquire the service of the Delhi left-hander. It was the mega auction ahead of the IPL 2011 so the teams were allowed to rebuild their squad entirely. It was also one of the most successful signings as Gambhir later captained the side to two IPL titles in four years.

5. IPL 2012: Ravindra Jadeja

The auction was dominated by players from the defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala. There was a spending cap of USD 2 million. Ravindra Jadeja was grabbed by Chennai Super Kings for the full amount and then onwards the left-arm spin all-rounder became a member of the CSK core team along with Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo.

6. IPL 2013: Glenn Maxwell

This was a quite auction because the teams were more or less settled. Glenn Maxwell was picked up by Mumbai Indians for USD 1 million. But he had a flop season for MI scoring just 36 runs from three matches and was released later.

7. IPL 2014: Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh became the costliest player in the history of IPL when he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14 crore. It was also the first auction when the players were valued in Indian Rupees as against US Dollars. But Yuvraj had a middling season for RCB.

8. IPL 2015: Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh once again rewrote the record books when he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 16 crore. But Yuvraj was not able to repay the huge amount in terms of performance as he scored just 248 runs from 14 matches.

9. IPL 2016: Shane Watson

The Australian all-rounder was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 9.5 crore, the most expensive buy of that season. But he did not meet the expectations, to bring balance in RCB line-up.

10. IPL 2017: Ben Stokes

The arrival of Ben Stokes sparked intense bidding and the English all-rounder was picked by Rising Pune SuperGiant for Rs 14.5 crore. He was brilliant for the Pune outfit scored 316 runs and taking 12 wickets from as many matches. He was named the most valuable player of the season.

11. IPL 2018: Ben Stokes

Once Pune SuperGiant were disbanded, their players were came up for auction. Stokes, who was the MVP of IPL 2017, understandably went for a high price: Rs 12.5 crore. Rajasthan Royals did not exactly got repaid by Stokes as he produced a lukewarm effort.

12. IPL 2019: Varun Chakravarthy / Jaydev Unadkat

Kings XI Punjab bagged less known mystery spinner Varun, who had a good Tamil Nadu Premier League, for Rs 8.4 crore while Royals bagged Unadkat for same price. But both the players turned out to be flops.