The IPL auctions is one of the most anticipated events prior to the start of the IPL season and over the years all the IPL franchises have spent millions to secure some of the best cricketing talents for their team.
With the 2017 Indian Premier League season set to star in April, and before that, the much-awaited player auction on February 6th, teams will once again have the chance to improve their squads and possibly challenge for the coveted IPL trophy.
MS Dhoni was the costliest player sold during the first IPL auction and in last year's auction Pawan Negi became the costliest Indian player to be auctioned after Delhi Daredevils spent 8.50 crores on him. However, the all rounder could not justify his price tag and was one of the many players released ahead of the new IPL season.
With the new IPL auction just under a week away, here is a recap of some of the biggest buys from the past IPL auctions.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni ($1.5 Million)
The former Indian captain was the costliest player sold from the first ever IPL auction as the Chennai Super Kings bought him. Under his captaincy he guided the Chennai Super Kings to two Indian Premier League titles and also the 2010 Champions League Twenty20 title.
After the Chennai team was suspended for a period of two years, Dhoni moved to a new franchise, the Rising Pune Supergiants and after finishing in 7th position in their debut campaign, MS Dhoni will play a big part as captain and will be hoping for a much better performance this season.
Andrew Symonds ($1.3 Million)
Andrew Symonds was the costliest foreign cricketer from the first edition of the IPL having being bought by the Deccan Chargers. After having a disappointing first IPL season and missing most of the second season through international commitments, he did play a few games towards the end and helped the Chargers to their first ever IPL title.
After leaving the Deccan Chargers, Symonds would on to sign with Mumbai Indians and that would be his last involvement with the IPL as the Australian cricketer announced his retirement in 2012.
Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen ($1.55 Million)
Andrew Flintoff was the costliest player along with his England teammate Kevin Pietersen to be sold at the second auction of the IPL. Flintoff spent only one year in the IPL after being bought by Chennai Super Kings and a lot injuries forced his hand into retirement in 2010. He made a brief comeback to T20 cricket in 2014 and after putting in a poor performance, he retired again.
Kevin Pietersen has been disappointing in the IPL recently and after being bought by the Rising Pune Supergiants last season he has once again been released. This time, however, he put in a lot of good performances in the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Stars and could spark another bidding war in this IPL auction.
Kieron Pollard ($750,000)
The West Indian all-rounder was one of the most expensive players in the third season of the IPL. Pollard has been one of Mumbai Indians' most consistent players since they signed him and he will certainly play a crucial part again this season after Mumbai Indians just missed out on a top four finish last season. His most memorable performance was in 2013 where he helped Mumbai to get the IPL trophy against Chennai.
Gautam Gambhir ($2.4 million)
The 2011 IPL player auction was the best from an Indian point of view as the top six costliest players were all Indian. The list included Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh and Saurabh Tiwary but the most expensive buy was Gautam Gambhir who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders.
Since moving to Kolkata from Delhi, Gambhir enjoyed a lot of success as their captain winning their first IPL trophy in 2012 and they also won their second title in 2014. Having been retained by Kolkata for the upcoming season, Gambhir will once again be tasked with leading the team as they look for their third title.
Ravindra Jadeja ($2 million)
Prior to becoming the costliest player in the 2012 IPL auction, Ravindra Jadeja enjoyed a lot of success with his first team, Rajasthan Royals, where he played an important role in the finals as they defeated the Chennai Super Kings to win the first edition of the IPL. Now, Jadeja plays for the Gujarat Lions and after enjoying an excellent first campaign which saw them top the table, he will once again play an important role in the new season.
Mahela Jayawardene ($1.4 million)
Mahela Jayawardene was the costliest foreign player sold in the 2012 auction as the Delhi Daredevils snapped up the former Sri Lankan captain. Prior to joining Delhi, he spent two years at Kings XI Punjab and in 2014 he was released by Delhi. Since leaving Delhi, Jayawardene has not played for any other IPL team. Since then he has retired from Test cricket and became a batting consultant for the England team and is currently trying his hand at commentating.
Glenn Maxwell ($1 million)
After spending the 2012 season with the Delhi Daredevils, Glenn Maxwell was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the 2013 auction for $1 million making him the costliest player that year and after just a year at Mumbai, he was bought by Punjab in 2014 and he was a big success that year and had the season's 3rd highest aggregate of 552 runs at an average of 34.50.
Despite a poor performance in 2015 for Punjab where he did not score higher that 43, Punjab decided to retain him for the 2017 IPL season.
Abhishek Nayar ($675,000)
Abhishek Nayar has played for a lot of IPL teams over the years including Mumbai, Punjab and Rajasthan, but in 2013, Pune Warriors India took a gamble on him and spent $675,000 on him to secure his services also making him the costliest Indian player to be sold at the auctions in 2013. He never really managed to find his feet in any of these teams and after being released by Rajasthan Royals in 2015, he has not been able to find a new team.
Yuvraj Singh ($2.33 million)
Yuvraj Singh was the costliest player in two consecutive IPL auctions. First in 2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him and after just spending a year there he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a whopping $2.4 million the following season and was once again the most costly player. At Delhi too, he spent just a year after not living up to his price tag and was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 and he has a superb first season with them winning the IPL trophy and played an important role in the finals as he scored 38 runs from 23 balls.
Pawan Negi ($1.2 million)
It came as a huge surprise when Delhi Daredevils spent $1.2 million on a relatively unknown talent Pawan Negi in 2016 making him the costliest Indian player and now it's fair to say that they suffered because of that. Negi failed to live up to his much-hyped price tag and after a disappointing season with Delhi, he was released and will be available for the upcoming 2017 auction.
Shane Watson ($1.4 million)
Shane Watson was the most expensive players sold at the 2016 IPL player auction as the Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him. His first season at Bangalore was certainly one to remember, except for the final match. Bangalore had lost to Hyderabad in the finals and Watson had a terrible day with the ball giving away 61 runs and no wickets. With the bat, he just managed 11 runs.
However, in 2017 Bangalore will certainly want to go all the way and with players like Kohli, de Villiers, Gayle, and Watson, they have some of the best cricketers in their team and will certainly be a threat to any team.
