The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is going to be the 17th season of the cash-rich league.
Every year, months before the teams battle it out for the ultimate prize on the field, they also fight against each other off the field in the auction arena, vying for the best players year after year.
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This year, the auction for IPL 2024 is set to take place on Tuesday, 19th December. As we look forward to the upcoming auction, The Sporting News lists down the most expensive buy at every auction so far.
MORE: When and where will the IPL 2024 auction take place?
Most expensive buys from 2008 to 2023: From MS Dhoni to Yuvraj Singh to Ben Stokes to Sam Curran
The first-ever IPL auction took place on 20th February, 2008, in Mumbai. As many as 77 players went under the hammer, with just two players - Pakistan's Mohammed Yousuf and South Africa's Ashwell Prince - going unsold.
Each team was given a $5 million purse, with the minimum spending amount set at $3.3 million. The-then Indian captain MS Dhoni was the costliest player as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spent $1.5 million (INR 9.5 crore) on him.
In 2009, Andrew Flintoff (CSK) and Kevin Pietersen (RCB) were the joint-most expensive players. The same repeated in 2010 as two players shared the most expensive player tag: Kieron Pollard (MI) and Shane Bond (KKR).
Yuvraj Singh (2014 and 2015) and Ben Stokes (2017 and 2018) are the only players who were the most expensive picks at an IPL auction more than once.
MORE: IPL 2024 - How does the auction work?
Here are the most expensive buys for every IPL season:
| Year | Player | Country | Purchased for (INR) | Purchased by |
| 2008 | MS Dhoni | India | 9.5 crore | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2009 | Andrew Flintoff | England | 9.8 crore | Chennai Super Kings |
| Kevin Pietersen | Royal Challengers Bangalore | |||
| 2010 | Kieron Pollard | West Indies | 4.8 crore | Mumbai Indians |
| Shane Bond | New Zealand | Kolkata Knight Riders | ||
| 2011 | Gautam Gambhir | India | 11.04 crore | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2012 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 12.8 crore | Chennai Super Kings |
| 2013 | Glenn Maxwell | Australia | 6.3 crore | Mumbai Indians |
| 2014 | Yuvraj Singh | India | 14 crore | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2015 | Yuvraj Singh | India | 16 crore | Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) |
| 2016 | Shane Watson | Australia | 9.5 crore | Royal Challengers Bangalore |
| 2017 | Ben Stokes | England | 14.5 crore | Rising Pune Supergiants (now defunct) |
| 2018 | 12.5 crore | Rajasthan Royals | ||
| 2019 | Jaydev Unadkat | India | 8.4 crore | Rajasthan Royals |
| Varun Chakravarthy | Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) | |||
| 2020 | Pat Cummins | Australia | 15.5 crore | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| 2021 | Chris Morris | South Africa | 16.25 crore | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2022 | Ishan Kishan | India | 15.25 crore | Mumbai Indians |
| 2023 | Sam Curran | England | 18.5 crore | Punjab Kings |
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