5 Highest bids for Indian players in the history of IPL

The scintillating and breathtaking Indian Premier League (IPL) auction has always been remarked by the gracious presence of star Indian players. It is the local names that make a team and take them through. Most of the franchises have always been eager to include a majority of the Indian cricketers in their combination as only four overseas players can be selected into the playing eleven.

The ideal worth and the player’s form in the domestic tournaments are the key parameters which the teams take into consideration at the auction table. Various IPL scouts are employed to look for lesser known talents that are making noise but at smaller levels.

In the past, both the recognized as well as the new faces have grabbed the headlines in the auction. Some of the big names of Indian cricket have attracted huge bids at the auction across all seasons. And here we look at the top five highest bids for Indian players in any of the IPL auction:

5. Gautam Gambhir – Rs 11.04 crore in 2011

The fifth name in the list belongs to former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Gautam Gambhir, who was bought by the franchise for Rs 11.04 crores at the 2011 auction. After quite an impressive run with the Daredevils Gambhir entered the Eden Gardens to originate a new beginning with KKR. He was then appointed as the skipper of the team which had a mixture of both the youth as well as the experienced cricketers.

As the leader of that bunch GG went on to achieve great heights, as he guided them to the numeruno position and got hold of the coveted IPL title twice in 2012 and 2014. His experience and better readings of the game was as precious as gold for the Knights. The left-hand batsman also played a crucial role at the top of the batting order with many match-winning knocks.

4. Jaydev Unadkat – Rs 11.50 crore in 2018

The 2018 IPL auction was expected to be a thrilling extravaganza as a total of 578 players went under the hammer to attract some huge bids. To the surprise of many, Saurashtra’s left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat emerged as the star of the event. He was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 11.5 crores which is 10 times his base price of 1.5 crore. He attracted the topmost bid for an Indian bowler in the entire history of the IPL.

Unadkat had a great outing with the Rising Pune Supergiant in the previous edition, where he finished as the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament. After an incredible season, the paceman returned to the Indian team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka in which he emerged as the match-winning bowler for the side and was also awarded the Player of the Series for his stunning performance. He will now hope to have another impressive season with the Royals and depict his worth in accordance with the heavy price tag.

3. Dinesh Karthik (Delhi Daredevils) – Rs 12.50 crore in 2014

Delhi Daredevils have often opted to strengthen the core of their side by including some of the star Indian players in their ranks. They picked another budding star in wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik for a worthy amount of Rs 12.50 crores in the 2014 IPL auction. Karthik became the second most expensive Indian cricketer in that edition, with Yuvraj at the top of the list.

The Delhi franchise wanted to have a balanced squad and thus bought some of the best batsmen in the shortest format. While Karthik was coming into the IPL on the back of a good domestic form but in the end, he had a quiet season with the bat and managed to score only 325 runs in 14 games.

2. Yuvraj Singh (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – Rs 14 crore in 2014

In the 2014 auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were looking to include a certain Indian batsman in their line-up who could strengthen the middle-order and could also provide them the option of bowling some useful overs. RCB though they knew the right man for the role and that’s when they bid 14 crores for Yuvraj.

After being picked for a huge price tag in the auction Yuvraj succumbed to the pressure and did not have a great season with RCB. He tallied only 376 runs in 14 matches, during the 2014 edition of the tournament. That was clearly not what the Royal Challengers expected of him when they signed him in the auction.

1. Yuvraj Singh (Delhi Daredevils) – Rs 16 crore in 2015

Yuvraj Singh has always been a charismatic and a stylish personality on the cricket field. Looking at his credentials and ability to strike the ball hard, Delhi Daredevils bought him for a whopping Rs 16 crores in the 2015 auction. The left-hander then became the most expensive player in the history of the tournament. This after he had already fetched a contract worth 14 crore from RCB in 2014. It was more a result of a bidding war than anything else.

Going by his worth in the previous editions of the tournament, it was a surprising call made by the Delhi franchise as Yuvraj was not having the best of the outings with the bat either. He had a dismal run throughout the competition and could only score 248 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 118. He also failed to contribute with the ball and had a single wicket to talk of.