From the rebranded Punjab Kings to Royal Challengers Bangalore, some of the teams broke banks to get these players in their teams
Every year, there are a few players who break some records at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for being the highest buys of the season or the year. However, the February Thursday saw some lifetime records break at the auction table and some players becoming millionaires in no time.
The fast bowlers and the all-rounders were in huge demand in the market as the teams went all out for getting the right players, who fit right to get that correct balance. The pure batsmen, however, didn't find enough takers but there were a few players, who broke some records and achieved substantial price tags against their names.
Here are the Top 5 most expensive players from the IPL 2021 auction:
1. Chris Morris - 16.25 crores
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The tall South African all-rounder Chris Morris is headed back to the Rajasthan Royals after a long gap of 6 years, but not before breaking records and bank of the Jaipur-based franchise. Morris had played for the franchise in 2015 year, where he took 13 wickets in the 11 games he played. The Royals grabbed the all-rounder for a whopping sum of INR 16.25 crore after being involved in furious bidding wars with first the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and then the Kings XI Punjab. He thereby broke all the records of the auctions by becoming the most expensive player in the history of the league as he left Yuvraj Singh (16 crores) and Pat Cummins (15.5 crores) behind. (Image: BCCI/IPL)
2. Kyle Jamieson - 15 crores
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The 6 foot, 6 inches tall New Zealand pace bowling all-rounder Kyle Jamieson also broke the record for the most expensive New Zeland player in the auction ever as the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The tall Kiwi has become a sensation ever since he made his debut in international cricket last year against India and given his ability to hit long sixes, he can prove to be a great buy for the RCB side. (Image: Blackcaps)
3. Glenn Maxwell - 14.25 crores
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Glenn Maxwell, the perennial big spend player went for another money-run after going for INR 10.75 cr last year when the Punjab team bought the all-rounder. The 32-year old Australian cricketer's bid war was started by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals after which Chennai Super Kings joined, but the RCB prevailed in the end to lap the explosive batter up. (Image: BCCI/IPL)
4. Jhye Richardson - 14 crores
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The golden arm winner of the Big Bash League (BBL) was touted to be one of the possible biggest buys of the auction and it proved to be one. The 24-year old West Australian was picked by the Punjab Kings, who had the biggest purse before the auction as they splurged 14 crores for the pacer. Richardson, who has played 24 games for Australia across formats, will be playing his first IPL. (Image: BBL)
5. Krishnappa Gowtham - 9.25 crores
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The surprise of the list, probably the whole of the auction was the Karnataka off-spinning all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham. The uncapped player, who has previously played for the Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, will be playing for the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, who sprung many surprises in the auction. CSK, who were in a dire need of an off-spinner, splurged money on two of them, the other one being Moeen Ali. (Image: BCCI/IPL)
