IPL 2021: These players are the most expensive buys in the history of tournament

The IPL 2021 auction witnessed a historic moment. South Africa pace bowler Chris Morris was sold to Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore. Morris became the second person after Glenn Maxwell to cross the Rs 10 crore mark. Earlier in the auction, Glenn Maxwell was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 14.25 crore. But, when the bid crossed Rs 10 crore, Mumbai Indians bailed out. It became an intense contest between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings. 

However, when the mark crossed Rs 15.5 crore, Morris also created history. He became the most expensive foreign buy in the history of the tournament. When the bid reached Rs 16.25 crore by Rajasthan Royals, Morris became the most expensive buy in the auction history. He beat the previous mark of Rs 16 crore set by Yuvraj Singh by Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2015. 

Most expensive players in the history of IPL Auction

Morris now sits on top with Rs 16.25 crore. The pace bowler is only Rs 75 lakhs behind the all-time high salary of MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. He is Rs 1.75 crore behind the all-time highest of Virat Kohli. Apart from Yuvraj and Morris, Pat Cummins of Australia had become the most expensive foreign player in history. In IPL 2020, he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 15.5 crore. 

Before Cummins, the highest foreign buy was held by England all-rounder Ben Stokes. He was bought for Rs 14.5 crore by Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017. Yuvraj, before his jackpot in IPL 2015, was lucky previously. India’s ultimate match-winner was purchased for Rs 14 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2014. Before Rising Pune Supergiant, Stokes was bought for Rs 12.5 crore by Rajasthan Royals. 

However, before Stokes and Yuvraj, Glenn Maxwell also created history as he notched up his highest bid ever in IPL history as he was bought for Rs 14.25 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore which made him the fifth-most expensive buy in the auction. Dinesh Karthik was bought for Rs 12.5 crore while in IPL 2018, he was purchased for Rs 11.8 crore by Rajasthan Royals following his brilliant show in IPL 2017 for Rising Pune Supergiant.

Manish Pandey and KL Rahul both went for Rs 11 crore to Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad but it was Gautam Gambhir who became the first player to breach the Rs 10 crore mark when he was purchased for Rs 11.4 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2011.