South African all-rounder Chris Morris on Thursday surpassed Yuvraj Singh to become the most-expensive player in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). Rajasthan Royals picked up Morris for a whopping ₹16.25 crore (from a base price of ₹75 lakh) at the IPL 2021 auction held in Chennai on Thursday.

Prior to this, Yuvaraj Singh topped the list of expensive IPL players when in 2015 Delhi Daredevils picked him for ₹16 crore followed by Australian pacer Pat Cummins, whom Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bagged for ₹15.5 crore in 2020. Morris figured among the expensive buys in the IPL 2020 edition as well, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) picking him for ₹10 crore.

RCB’s expensive picks

RCB virtually broke the bank today with two expensive picks. The franchise bought New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson for ₹15 crore (base price of ₹75 lakh) and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for ₹14.25 crore. Maxwell, whose bidding started at a base price of ₹2 crore, sparked an intense competition among Chennai Super Kings, KKR and RCB.

Young all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham became the most expensive uncapped player in IPL history, when CSK made its winning bid of ₹9.25 crore (base price of ₹20 lakh). Similarly, another youngster Shahrukh Khan, with a base price of ₹20 lakh, was bagged by Punjab Kings for ₹5.25 crore.

CSK also bagged England all-rounder Moeen Ali for ₹7 crore (base price ₹2 crore) while Delhi Capitals picked the former Australian captain Steve Smith for ₹2.2 crore (base price ₹2 crore). Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan went to KKR for ₹3.2 crore (₹2 crore).

While most franchises focussed on all-rounders, Punjab Kings splurged on bowlers. The franchise picked two Australian bowlers — Jhye Richardson for ₹14 crore (base price ₹1.5 crore) and Riley Meredith ₹8 crore (base price ₹40 lakh). Richardson is the most expensive bowler in the IPL 2021 edition.

Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav and Sam Billings were picked up for ₹2 crore each by various franchisees.

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