Since its establishment in 2008, the Indian Premier League has attracted cricketers globally. For IPL 2024, each franchise’s salary budget to construct their teams has been raised to 100 Crore, reflecting the financial significance in modern sports. This has transformed players’ fortunes, with mega IPL contracts changing lives overnight. In this article, we highlight the IPL highest paid player along with other stars in the top 10.
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| Player | Team | Price (INR) | IPL Year | |
| Mitchell Starc | Kolkata Knight Riders | 24.75 crore | 2024 | |
| Pat Cummins | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 20.50 crore | 2024 | |
| Sam Curran | Punjab Kings | 18.50 crore | 2023 | |
| Cameron Green | Mumbai Indians | 17.50 crore | 2023 | |
| Ben Stokes | Chennai Super Kings | 16.25 crore | 2023 | |
| Chris Morris | Rajasthan Royals | 16.25 crore | 2022 | |
| Nicholas Pooran | Lucknow Super Giants | 16 crore | 2021 | |
| Yuvraj Singh | Delhi Daredevils | 16 crore | 2015 | |
| Rohit Sharma | Mumbai Indians | 16 crore | 2023 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Chennai Super Kings | 16 crore | 2023 |
Top 10 IPL highest paid player
The IPL Auction 2024 occurred at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday, December 19, witnessing record-breaking spending by teams for specific players. Here are the top 10 IPL highest paid player:
- Kolkata Knight Riders made history by securing Australian pacer Mitchell Starc for a record bid of INR 24.75 crore in the IPL auction. This surpassed the previous highest bid of INR 20.5 crore for Australian captain Pat Cummins, who was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Starc is the highest paid player in IPL history as of IPL 2024.
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- Sam Curran held the record for the highest paid IPL player in the 2023 IPL auction, joining Punjab Kings for INR 18.50 crore. This record was broken by Starc’s acquisition in the latest auction.
- Cameron Green was a significant buy for Mumbai Indians in 2023, signing for INR 17.50 crore. However, he later moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore as Mumbai Indians needed to make financial adjustments to accommodate Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans.
- Ben Stokes fetched INR 16.25 crore from Chennai Super Kings in 2023.
- In 2022, Rajasthan Royals paid 16.25 crore rupees for South African all-rounder Chris Morris. Morris remained a highly effective player in the IPL.
- Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Andre Russell, and Nicholas Pooran have all earned INR 16 crore each. They rank in the top 10 IPL highest paid player list.
- KL Rahul remains the highest-paid captain in IPL history, securing a lucrative contract of 17 crores with Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.
Top 10 highest paid IPL player 2024
The player auction for the IPL 2024 edition, held in Dubai on December 19, saw teams spending generously on some high-profile players. With that being said, here is a list of the top 10 highest paid IPL player 2024. The amounts mentioned are in Indian Rupees (crores):
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| Player | Team | Base Price | Final Price |
| Mitchell Starc (AUS) | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | 2.00 cr | 24.75 cr |
| Pat Cummins (AUS) | Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) | 2.00 cr | 20.50 cr |
| Daryl Mitchell (NZ) | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | 1.00 cr | 14.00 cr |
| Harshal Patel | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | 2.00 cr | 11.75 cr |
| Alzarri Joseph (WI) | Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) | 1.00 cr | 11.50 cr |
| Spencer Johnson (AUS) | Gujarat Titans (GT) | 0.50 cr | 10.00 cr |
| Sameer Rizvi | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | 0.20 cr | 8.40 cr |
| Rilee Rossouw (SA) | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | 2.00 cr | 8.00 cr |
| Shahrukh Khan | Gujarat Titans (GT) | 0.40 cr | 7.40 cr |
| Rovman Powell (WI) | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | 1.00 cr | 7.40 cr |
Pat Cummins became the highest paid IPL player 2024 after being signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, his record was quickly broken by his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc. The left arm pacer secured a Rs. 24.75 crore deal with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Along with international stars, there were also some domestic players who enjoyed a lucrative day at the auction. After IPL 2024, based on their performances, we could see a shift in the highest paid player in IPL tag.
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Full list of highest paid IPL player year-wise
Over the last couple of seasons, there has been an increase in the value of IPL highest paid player. With IPL 2024 approaching, the dynamics of the game and financial fluency has seen a massive change. The league has become more competitive than ever before, and franchises are ready to dish out larger payouts. Here is a comprehensive list of highest paid IPL player year-wise:
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| Year | Players & Teams | Price (In INR) |
| 2008 | MS Dhoni (CSK) | 9.5 crore |
| 2009 | Kevin Pietersen (RCB), Andrew Flintoff (CSK) | 9.8 crore |
| 2010 | Shane Bond (KKR), Kieron Pollard (MI) | 4.8 crore |
| 2011 | Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 14.9 crore |
| 2012 | Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) | 12.8 crore |
| 2013 | Glenn Maxwell (MI) | 6.3 crore |
| 2014 | Yuvraj Singh (RCB) | 14 crore |
| 2015 | Yuvraj Singh (DD) | 16 crore |
| 2016 | Shane Watson (RCB) | 9.5 crore |
| 2017 | Ben Stokes (RPS) | 14.5 crore |
| 2018 | Ben Stokes (RR) | 12.5 crore |
| 2019 | Jaydev Unadkat (RR), Varun Chakravarthy (KXIP) | 8.4 crore |
| 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 |
As mentioned, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Mitchell Starc is the highest paid IPL player 2024, followed closely by Pat Cummins.
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Conclusion
That covers the list of the IPL highest paid players 2024 season. Overseas players, particularly all-rounders and power hitters, tend to command high prices at auctions. However, Indian players have also fetched significant sums.
For instance, Yuvraj Singh, renowned for his finishing skills, fielding, and bowling, attracted a high price as far back as 2014. MS Dhoni was the priciest player in the inaugural IPL season in 2008. Many promising players from domestic cricket backgrounds have been bought for substantial amounts and have performed admirably.
Fans will be hoping that the IPL will continue to provide a platform for young talents to shine. The IPL 2024 season will commence on March 22, and will see CSK take on RCB in the tournament opener.
