Most expensive players in IPL: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer headline list
Rishabh Pant was bought for ₹27 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah. The top 10 costliest players came in the last three editions of the league.
Cricket
The Indian Premier League (IPL) auction has over the years served as a stage where cricketing talent meets its utmost value. Several cricketers have attracted staggering bids at every edition of the IPL auction.
The IPL 2025 mega auction, held at the Abady Al-Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, made history as five cricketers entered the ranks of the top 10 most expensive signings in IPL history.
Rishabh Pant, released by Delhi Capitals (DC), was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore, becoming the most expensive player in IPL. The historic bid came shortly after Shreyas Iyer, the title-winning captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), was acquired by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore for IPL 2025.
Here’s a list of the top 10 most expensive players in IPL history.
Most expensive players in IPL
Australia’s Mitchell Starc’s ₹24.75 crore bid by the Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL 2024 season is third. At the IPL 2025 auction, KKR once again made headlines by securing Venkatesh Iyer’s services for a whopping ₹23.75 crore, bringing the all-rounder back into their ranks.
Sunrisers Hyderabad got Pat Cummins for ₹20.50 crore ahead of the 2024 season, which comes next on the list.
Yuvraj Singh, who was instrumental in helping India win the inaugural T20 World Cup, held the record of the most expensive Indian player going into the IPL 2025 auction. He was acquired by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) for ₹16 crore in 2015.
Yuvraj Singh’s record was surpassed with the opening bid at the 2025 auction when Punjab Kings used their Right-to-Match (RTM) card to secure Arshdeep Singh for ₹18 crore. Punjab Kings, who had the biggest purse of ₹110.5 crore going into the auction, also acquired Yuzvendra Chahal for ₹18 crore.
Legendary Indian captain MS Dhoni set the benchmark for the most expensive players in the IPL by fetching $1.5 million from the Chennai Super Kings at the inaugural IPL auction. He has remained with the team ever since and has led the team to five titles.
In 2011, Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out the then-record bid of ₹14.9 crore for Gautam Gambhir. The move paid off as Gambhir captained KKR to two IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
Ben Stokes and Yuvraj Singh are the only two players to have emerged as the costliest buys of the season on multiple occasions.
Stokes was snapped up by Rising Pune Supergiant for ₹14.5 crore in 2017 before Rajasthan Royals secured him for ₹12.5 crore the following year. Ben Stokes, for ₹16.25 crore, went to Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2023 season.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj commanded ₹14 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014 and became the then-most expensive player in 2015 when Delhi Daredevils got him for ₹16 crore.