Quick Answer: Rishabh Pant is the Most Expensive Player Year by Year in IPL history, as Lucknow Super Giants bought him for ₹27 crore at the 2025 mega auction. Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player when Kolkata Knight Riders paid ₹25.20 crore for him in the IPL 2026 auction. The story began with MS Dhoni, who was the most expensive player at the inaugural 2008 auction after Chennai Super Kings signed him for $1.5 million.
Most Expensive IPL Player in Every Auction
| Year | Player | Team | Price |
| 2008 | MS Dhoni | CSK | $1.5 million (approx. ₹6 cr) |
| 2009 | Kevin Pietersen & Andrew Flintoff | RCB / CSK | $1.55 million each |
| 2010 | Kieron Pollard & Shane Bond | MI / KKR | $750,000 each |
| 2011 | Gautam Gambhir | KKR | $2.4 million |
| 2012 | Ravindra Jadeja | CSK | $2 million |
| 2013 | Glenn Maxwell | MI | $1 million |
| 2014 | Yuvraj Singh | RCB | ₹14 crore |
| 2015 | Yuvraj Singh | Delhi Daredevils | ₹16 crore |
| 2016 | Shane Watson | RCB | ₹9.5 crore |
| 2017 | Ben Stokes | Rising Pune Supergiant | ₹14.5 crore |
| 2018 | Ben Stokes | Rajasthan Royals | ₹12.5 crore |
| 2019 | Jaydev Unadkat & Varun Chakravarthy | RR / KXIP | ₹8.4 crore each |
| 2020 | Pat Cummins | KKR | ₹15.5 crore |
| 2021 | Chris Morris | RR | ₹16.25 crore |
| 2022 | Ishan Kishan | MI | ₹15.25 crore |
| 2023 | Sam Curran | PBKS | ₹18.5 crore |
| 2024 | Mitchell Starc | KKR | ₹24.75 crore |
| 2025 | Rishabh Pant | LSG | ₹27 crore |
| 2026 | Cameron Green | KKR | ₹25.20 crore |
Who Is the Most Expensive Player Year by Year in IPL History?
Rishabh Pant holds the all-time IPL auction record.
Lucknow Super Giants bought the Indian wicketkeeper-batter for ₹27 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction. The bid took him past every previous IPL signing and made him the first player to reach the ₹27 crore mark.
The same auction produced another huge deal when Punjab Kings signed Shreyas Iyer for ₹26.75 crore, but Pant remained on top.
The IPL 2026 auction did not break his record.
Kolkata Knight Riders spent ₹25.20 crore on Cameron Green, making the Australian all-rounder the most expensive overseas player in IPL history. Green overtook Mitchell Starc, whom KKR had bought for ₹24.75 crore before IPL 2024.
These figures show just how dramatically IPL auction values have grown since the league began.
How IPL Auction Prices Changed From 2008 to 2026
The Most Expensive Player Year by Year in IPL History list also tells the story of the league’s financial growth.
In 2008, Chennai Super Kings signed MS Dhoni for $1.5 million, roughly ₹6 crore at the time. That was considered an enormous investment in the first IPL auction.
By 2014, the leading price had moved to ₹14 crore when Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Yuvraj Singh.
Yuvraj went even higher a year later. Delhi Daredevils paid ₹16 crore for him in 2015, establishing a new benchmark.
The next major jump came in the 2020s.
Pat Cummins fetched ₹15.5 crore in 2020, Chris Morris went for ₹16.25 crore in 2021 and Sam Curran reached ₹18.5 crore in 2023.
Then the market moved into another bracket completely.
Mitchell Starc cost KKR ₹24.75 crore in 2024 before Rishabh Pant pushed the record to ₹27 crore in 2025.
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Players Who Were the Costliest Buy More Than Once
Becoming the most expensive player at one IPL auction is difficult. Doing it in consecutive years is even rarer.
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh topped two straight auctions.
Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him for ₹14 crore in 2014. Delhi Daredevils then paid ₹16 crore in 2015, making him the most expensive player for a second consecutive season.
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes achieved the same feat a few years later.
Rising Pune Supergiant bought the England all-rounder for ₹14.5 crore in 2017. Rajasthan Royals followed by signing him for ₹12.5 crore in 2018.
Stokes later attracted another major deal when Chennai Super Kings paid ₹16.25 crore for him ahead of IPL 2023.
KKR and the IPL’s Biggest Auction Deals
Kolkata Knight Riders appear repeatedly when the biggest IPL auction deals are discussed.
KKR bought Gautam Gambhir for $2.4 million in 2011. That investment became particularly significant because Gambhir later captained the franchise to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014.
The franchise returned to the top of the auction spending list in 2020 by signing Pat Cummins for ₹15.5 crore.
Then came two huge overseas deals.
KKR paid ₹24.75 crore for Mitchell Starc in 2024 and ₹25.20 crore for Cameron Green in 2026.
That means KKR secured the auction’s most expensive player in 2011, 2020, 2024 and 2026.
Top 5 Most Expensive IPL Buys Ever
| Rank | Player | Team | Price | Year |
| 1 | Rishabh Pant | LSG | ₹27 crore | 2025 |
| 2 | Cameron Green | KKR | ₹25.20 crore | 2026 |
| 3 | Mitchell Starc | KKR | ₹24.75 crore | 2024 |
| 4 | Sam Curran | PBKS | ₹18.5 crore | 2023 |
| 5 | Chris Morris | RR | ₹16.25 crore | 2021 |
Biggest Trends in IPL Auction History
One trend is clear: the ceiling for the most expensive player year by year in IPL history has risen sharply.
The leading bid moved from approximately ₹6 crore for MS Dhoni in 2008 to ₹27 crore for Rishabh Pant in 2025.
Another interesting trend is the premium placed on all-rounders.
Players such as Shane Watson, Ben Stokes, Chris Morris, Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ravindra Jadeja all topped their respective auctions. In a T20 competition, a player who can contribute in more than one department naturally gives franchises greater flexibility.
Overseas players have also featured heavily among record deals. Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Sam Curran and Chris Morris are all among the biggest auction purchases listed here.
At the same time, Indian stars such as Dhoni, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Ishan Kishan and Pant have commanded some of the defining bids in IPL history.
FAQs: IPL Auction Records
Who is the most expensive IPL player ever?
Rishabh Pant is the most expensive player in IPL history. Lucknow Super Giants bought him for ₹27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Who was the most expensive player in the IPL 2026 auction?
Cameron Green was the most expensive player in IPL 2026. Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for ₹25.20 crore.
Who is the most expensive overseas player in IPL history?
Cameron Green is the most expensive overseas IPL player, with his ₹25.20 crore move to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2026.
Who was the first most expensive player in IPL history?
MS Dhoni was the top-priced player at the inaugural IPL auction in 2008. Chennai Super Kings signed him for $1.5 million.
Which player has been the most expensive IPL buy in consecutive auctions?
Yuvraj Singh topped the auctions in 2014 and 2015, while Ben Stokes did the same in 2017 and 2018.
How much did Rishabh Pant cost in the IPL auction?
Lucknow Super Giants bought Rishabh Pant for ₹27 crore in 2025, which remains the highest IPL auction price in the supplied data.
Who was the most expensive IPL player before Rishabh Pant?
Among the auction-topper figures in the supplied year-by-year list, Mitchell Starc held the previous benchmark at ₹24.75 crore after Kolkata Knight Riders signed him in 2024. Pant then raised the auction-topper record to ₹27 crore in 2025.
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