New Delhi: India’s biggest cricket carnival, the Indian Premier League (IPL), is well known for franchises spending huge money on players during the auctions, to acquire the services of the big star players for their teams.
Usually, these players are the ones who are well known across the globe for their particular cricketing style, and match-winning abilities. These players who have already made their names on the International circuit are put on the capped players list, keeping their base price pretty high during the auction, which helps them go for big bucks if multiple franchises are in the desire to acquire them.
However, there is also a list, which is for the lesser unknown players, who have only played in domestic circuits before and are known by a handful of people, i.e., the uncapped players list.
Players from the uncapped player’s list usually go for cheap as their base price is very low, and teams are not always in the mood to experiment by spending large sums on them, but there are few instances when these players go for a larger sum than many of the uncapped players, the reason being their raw talent and fearless attitude.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 uncapped players who shocked the world with their auction prices in the history of IPL.
5] Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians)
The 32-year-old, Baroda player was bought by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 auction, at a whopping price of 8.8 crores, after having to release him before the auction due to mega-auction rules.
Krunal had already played two seasons for MI previously, proving his worth, which made MI go behind him in the auction regardless of the price tag.
4] Rahul Tewatia (Gujarat Titans)
After performing extremely well in 2021 IPL, for the Punjab Kings franchise while batting down the order, Tewatia was on the radar of multiple teams during the 2022 auctions.
Gujrat Titans, gave the southpaw their utmost trust, as they spent a mind-boggling, INR 9 crores on him. Tewatia returned the favour by being a dependable batsman in the lower order for GT, and by being one of the reasons why the franchise was able to win the IPL trophy while playing their first-ever season.
3] Shahrukh Khan (Punjab Kings)
The story of Punjab Kings and Shahrukh Khan is very interesting as the franchise always releases him before the auction and then runs behind him like crazy during the auction to have him back in their team.
In IPL 2022 auctions, Punjab Kings after releasing him, went behind him with any means possible and was finally able to acquire his services for a whopping price of INR 9 crores.
Unfortunately, the batsman eventually got released again by the franchise, two seasons later, but this time, failing to join the same franchise back again.
2] Krishnappa Gowtham (Chennai Super Kings)
Chennai Super Kings is not one of those franchises that likes to spend a lot of money on a single player during the auction, and that’s why when they decided to bid INR 9.25 crore during the IPL 2021 auctions, it left everyone in shock.
However, in a very anticlimactic fashion, the Karnataka-based spinner failed to be a part of the team on a regular basis and was released from the side one season later.
1] Avesh Khan (Lucknow Super Kings)
The right-arm pacer from Madhya Pradesh was released from Delhi Capitals’ squad, ahead of IPL 2022 auction, despite being their highest wicket-taker a season prior, a move which shocked everyone.
LSG, taking full advantage of the situation, bought the player for an enormous price of INR 10 crores, making him the most expensive uncapped player in the history of IPL auctions.
However, the pacer was later traded to RR, two seasons later, despite going to lengths to acquire his services.
The Top 10 List
The list of the top 10 most expensive uncapped players is rather interesting, as there is one name that features twice in the list.
Check out the list below:
