4. Ben Stokes – INR 27,00,00,000 (27 Crores in 2 Auctions)
Table Of Content
It took Ben just two seasons to break into this list of all time highest paid IPL cricketers. Stokes had the ability to create an impact in all three departments of batting, bowling and fielding.
His all-round ability was enough for Rising Pune Supergiant to go after him during the 2017 auction. The franchise purchased Ben for INR 14.5 crores. It was also Ben’s first time in the IPL auction.
The Durham all-rounder repaid the faith as he scored 316 runs and took 12 wickets. He was one of RPS’ best player and helped the franchise to reach the final. As a result it was obvious that Ben would once again attract a lot of bids in the 2018 season.
This time it was Rajasthan Royals who went bonkers and paid INR 12.5 crores for Stokes. Hence in just two seasons, Ben received a whopping sum of INR 27 crores from the IPL auctions.
3. Jaydev Unadkat – INR 29,60,75,000 (29.6 Crores in 8 Auctions)
Although this Indian pacer may have played in 10 seasons, yet he was part of the auction 8 times. Since his debut in 2010, he didn’t play only in 2011, 2012 and 2015. Over all the 10 seasons Unadkat had played for 5 teams and has always been one of the highest paid cricketers.
His first big signing was in the year 2013 when RCB purchased him for $525,000 (approx INR 3.2 crores). Next year the left-arm pacer attracted Delhi for INR 2.8 crores. In 2016, it was KKR that bought him for INR 1.6 crores.
However in 2015 and 2016, due to no play, Unadkat’s stocks dropped rapidly. As a result in 2017, RPS only had to pay INR 30 lakhs to secure his services. However in that season, Unadkat was terrific as he picked 24 wickets in 13 games.
As a result in the 2018 auction Rajasthan Royals decided to break the bank and splashed INR 11.5 crores for him. But after a disappointing season, RR was forced to put Unadkat back in the auction. But in 2019, they once again decided to but him for a slightly lesser price of INR 8.4 crores.
It was after the performance in RPS that the Saurashtra-born bowler’s stocks rose. The last two auctions contributed a lot in his total sum of more than INR 29 crores. This huge total sum has helped Unadkat join this list and become the third highest paid IPL cricketer.