Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most followed T20 league across the globe. It is quite often that performances in the IPL get widely acknowledged in cricketing circles. Over the years, a large number of overseas players have shown interest in being a part of the T20 extravaganza during the Indian summer. As a result, with some of the world's best players, the frenzy for the IPL is always palpable among the cricket fans.
While the IPL was mainly aimed at providing a platform to the young Indian talent, it is the overseas players who add flavor to this cash-rich league in every edition. With a limitation of four overseas spots in the playing XI, most franchises are willing to spend extra purse in acquiring the best overseas players available during the IPL Auction.
Over the years, IPL teams have been extravagant in bidding for overseas players in order to obtain the best resources at the auction table. Consequently, this has benefitted overseas players with a high auction price to kickstart their IPL careers.
Here, we take a look at the five most expensive overseas players in IPL auction history:
Contents
5. Glenn Maxwell – INR 10.75 Crores
Team – Kings XI Punjab

Glenn Maxwell is one of the most exciting names when it comes to T20 cricket. The all-rounder has witnessed great success for Australia in the shortest format of the game. On his day, he is a genuine match-winner but for a variety of reasons, he has failed to replicate his success in a few IPL seasons now.
In IPL 2020, Kings XI Punjab invested a lot of faith to rope in Maxwell as a core member of their IPL squad. KXIP bought him for an auction price of INR 10.75 Crores in the hope to revive the team's fortune in 2020. However, the all-rounder was a huge let-down after a below-par season with the bat. Maxwell could only muster 102 runs at a poor strike rate of 102 in the entire season. It was eventually that Punjab released Maxwell after a disastrous season in 2020.
ALSO READ Most Expensive Player in each IPL Season since 2008
4. Tymal Mills – INR 12 Crores (2017)
Team – Royal Challengers Bangalore

The dynamics of the IPL auction are such that it often tends to throw some surprises at the auction table. One such case was RCB's acquisition in Tymal Mills in IPL auction 2017. Mills, who was beginning to earn a name for himself in the T20 circuit, was snapped by RCB for a whopping price of INR 12 Crores. As a result, Mills was one of the most expensive overseas players in the IPL history.
The left-arm pacer had a lot of bowling variations up his sleeves but was not effective for RCB as he picked only five wickets in as many games and proved to be expensive. Mills was later released by the franchise at the end of the season and hasn't been able to find a buyer in the IPL ever since.
3. Ben Stokes – INR 12.5 Crores (2018)
Team – Rajasthan Royals

Ben Stokes was a major hit in IPL 2017 while playing for Rising Pune Supergiant. It was quite inevitable for the all-rounder to be in great demand at the auction table in 2018. Returning after a two-year ban, Rajasthan Royals were looking for an impact player who could also be at the core of their IPL squad in the upcoming few years.
The Jaipur-based franchise went all-out to claim Stokes in the 2018 auction even if it was worth INR 12.5 Crores out of their auction purse. While a lot of expectations were riding upon Stokes after a successful IPL 2017, he couldn't deliver similar performances for the Royals. Despite that fact, the franchise has been committed to retaining his services for the last few IPL seasons.
ALSO READ IPL Auction 2021 – Remaining Purse and Available Slots
2. Ben Stokes – INR 14.5 Crores (2017)
Team – Rising Pune SuperGiant

Ben Stokes didn't enroll himself for the IPL auction until 2017. However, once he was available for the IPL auction in 2017, the English all-rounder was reasonably in demand from the outset. A lot of IPL franchises were keen to rope his services given his reputation as a proficient T20 player for England.
At the IPL auction 2017, Stokes was picked by the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant franchise for the year 2017for an auction price of INR 14.5 Crores. In IPL 2017, Stokes was also the most expensive player in the auction. The southpaw had a great outing for RPSG and scored 316 runs at a strike rate of 142 including a century against Gujarat Lions.
1. Pat Cummins – INR 15.5 Crores (2020)
Team – Kolkata Knight Riders

Pat Cummins is perhaps the finest pacer going around the world across formats. Despite being the No.1 Test bowler, Cummins has shown his potency even in the shorter formats of the game with the white-ball. The Aussie quick has had a brilliant past few years which is one of the main reasons why he was in demand at the IPL Auction in 2020.
At the mini-auction in IPL 2020, Cummins was the most sought-after overseas player among the available pool of pacers. As a result, a lot of teams were willing to spend a major chunk of their purse for the New South Wales bowler. He was eventually snapped by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping amount of INR 15.5 Crores. He ended up becoming the most expensive overseas player in the IPL history since 2008. The 27-year old had a decent IPL season with KKR and picked 12 wickets in 14 matches in 2020.