Highest Paid Players in IPL Auction 2021: Indian Premier League has always been full of unexpected events and IPL Auction 2021 is no less as Chris Morris created history by becoming the highest paid player in the IPL ever. The South African cricketer surpassed Yuvraj Singh to become the most expensive buy. Rajasthan Royals shelled out Rs 16.25 crore for this all-rounder during the bidding process in Chennai on Thursday.
However, the costliest player in the IPL remains Indian skipper Virat Kohli, retained for Rs 17 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Interestingly, the 33-year-old player had a base price of just Rs 75 lakh and generated bids from four teams. However, later Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were seen sparring over Morris. But eventually, Rajasthan Royals sealed it with a whopping bid of Rs 16.25 crore. This made the all-rounder the costliest buy at the auction ever. According to news agency PTI, Morris has scored 551 runs at an average of 23.95 in 70 IPL games. He has taken 80 wickets at 23.98. Morris surpassed Yuvraj Singh, who was bought for Rs 16 crore by Delhi Capitals in 2015.
In the last auction, the gifted all-rounder was by the RCB for Rs 10 crore. But this time he will be seen playing in a pink jersey.
Kyle Jamieson, medium pacer of New Zealand, went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 15 crore. His base price was Rs 75 lakh. The Kiwi is now the second most expensive player of IPL
Earlier, Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell managed to attract a winning Rs 14.25 crore bid from RCB. CSK, RCB, and KKR were seen making intense bidding for the perennial under-performer. The opening bid for the Maxwell was made by KKR but it eventually became a two-way war between Chennai Super Kings and RCB. The Virat Kohli-led team emerged as the winner with a bid that came to Rs 14.25 crore or USD 1.96 million.
From Chris Morris to K Gowtham, here are the Top 5 Buys from the @Vivo_India #IPLAuction so far. ???? pic.twitter.com/cLZn4tAjLu
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 18, 2021
In the last auction, he was part of Punjab Kings. But the 32-year-old player was release following the 2020 edition in which he managed to score just 108 runs in 13 games at 15.42. He doesn’t have a very impressive overall average either. In 82 IPL games, Maxwell has made 1505 runs at 22.13.
The fourth highest-paid player so far is Jhye Richardson. Punjab Kings shelled out Rs 14 crore to rope in the Australian pacer. Punjab Kings hopes that the 24-year-old player will plug the gap in their leaking bowling department as he was the leading wicket-taker in the recent Big Bash League. He has so far played 13 ODIs and two Tests for Australia.
All-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham too hogged the limelight as he was bought for a record Rs 9.25 crore by the Chennai Super Kings. The 32-year-old spin bowler is currently with the Indian team as a net bowler.
Earlier in the day, Chennai Super Kings paid Rs 7 crore for England all-rounder Moeen Ali. Moeen had base prices of Rs 2 crore.
