The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a platform where global cricket stars come together to play the shortest and quickest format of the game. It stands out in the Indian cricketing calendar. The players and the glitz alike make this the singularly most-awaited event for fans across the globe and makes every aspect, from the auctions to the matches, an event with record-breaking viewership.

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Ahead of Tuesday’s IPL 2019 Players Auction in Jaipur, here is a look back at the costliest cricketers at the each auction from 2008.

2008: MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings) - $1.5 Million

The inaugural auction created a lot of buzz with some players being tagged as icon players. Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians), Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata Knight Riders), Rahul Dravid (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Yuvraj Singh (Kings XI Punjab), and Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils) were classified as icon players for the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and they did not enter the auction. The icon players were entitled to receive 15% more money than the highest paid player of their respective teams in the auction. A total of 75 players (29 Indians) were sold at the auction. MS Dhoni won the highest bid of $1.5 million as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bagged the Indian skipper for a record amount. Dhoni justified the big bucks spent on him. Under his captaincy, CSK reached 7 finals and lifted the IPL Trophy thrice.

2009: Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings) and Kevin Pietersen (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - $1.55 Million

The auction for the second season was primarily for the international players from England and domestic players from international circuits who were not a part of the inaugural season. Out of the 43 players who were shortlisted for the auction, only 17 were picked up by different franchises. The English duo of Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen fetched the highest bids of $1.55 million each. Flintoff was picked up by CSK while Pietersen was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, both had quite a poor season and all in all, the biggest buys of the season weren't quite profitable.

2010: Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians) and Shane Bond (Kolkata Knight Riders) - $0.75 Million

In 2010 IPL Auction, a cap of $0.75 million was set for individual players. The most expensive picks of the season, Kieron Pollard and Shane Bond were picked up by the franchises through a secret tie-breaker as numerous teams were interested in them for the maximum allowed cap. Pollard was picked up by Mumbai Indians and Bond was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders. Only 11 players were sold in the auction with Mohammed Kaif (Kings XI Punjab) being the only Indian player picked up in this auction. However, none of the players had an exceptional season.

2011: Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders) - $2.4 million

The fourth season of IPL provided the opportunity for the franchises to completely rebuild their teams from the auction list as teams were allowed to retain only a maximum of four players. Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab did not retain any of their players letting them have bigger salary caps for the auction. The number of IPL teams increased from eight to 10 with the addition of two new teams, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India reflecting the rise in the popularity of IPL. As many as 127 players (52 Indians) were sold at the auction. Kolkata picked up the most expensive player from the lot in the form of Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir was bought by KKR for $2.4 million and the left-hander proved his worth as he led them to the IPL title twice in the next four seasons.

2012: Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings) - $2 million

In the fifth edition of the IPL, the auction was mainly for the players from the defunct franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The remaining eight teams took part in the auction with each team allowed to spend a maximum of $2 million. Chennai Super Kings brought in the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja into their squad.

2013: Glenn Maxwell (Mumbai Indians) - $1 million

The sixth edition of IPL auction was relatively quiet with Glenn Maxwell being the only millionaire. Mumbai Indians bought the hard-hitting batsman for $ 1 million. However, ironically, Maxwell got out for a golden duck and Sunil Narine hit him for four consecutive sixes on the same day of auction in an ODI between Australia and West Indies.

2014: Yuvraj Singh (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - Rs 14 crore

The 2014 IPL auction featured eight teams as Pune Warriors India announced withdrawal from IPL. All teams were allowed to retain a maximum of five players and all other players went to the auction pool. For the first time, the players were valued in Indian rupees during the player auction instead of the US dollars. Also, uncapped players featured in the IPL Auction for the first time. Out of the 912 players who entered the auction, 154 players (104 Indians and 50 from overseas) were sold. Yuvraj was the most expensive buy of the season with Royal Challengers Bangalore spending Rs 14 crore for him. However, he had a disappointing stint.

2015 - Yuvraj Singh (Delhi Daredevils) - Rs 16 crore

Sixty six players (43 Indians and 23 Overseas) were sold at the 2015 IPL auction. In a repeat of the previous auction, Yuvraj turned out to be the most expensive buy with Delhi Daredevils picking the left-hander for Rs 16 crore. Interestingly, the two most expensive buys of 2014 and 2015 were the same players as they switched teams. Yuvraj went from RCB to DD while Dinesh Karthik moved from DD into RCB. Yuvraj scored 248 runs from 14 matches while Karthik was able to score only 141 runs from 16 matches. Both these expensive moves turned out to be failures.

2016 - Shane Watson (Royal Challengers Bangalore) - Rs 9.5 crore

Two new franchises Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were part of the 2016 and 2017 IPL seasons as Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years. These two franchises were allowed to draft a maximum of five players each from the Chennai and Rajasthan teams. Out of the 351 cricketers from the auction list, 94 were sold at the auction. A big money move came from Royal Challengers Bangalore with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson raising the roof. Watson was bought by RCB for Rs 9.5 crore. He was picked in order to bring the much-needed balance into their squad but it turned out be a disappointing signing instead.

2017 - Ben Stokes (Rising Pune Supergiants) - Rs 14.5 crore

Out of the 351 players shortlisted, 66 players were sold. Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 crore and Stokes justified his buy by being exceptional for Pune as they finished runners-up. In the 2017 season, Stokes bagged the Most Valuable Player of the Season award. He scored 316 runs at an average of 31.6 and took 12 wickets from 12 matches.

2018 - Ben Stokes (Rajasthan Royals) - Rs 12.5 crore

All teams were allowed to retain a maximum of three players for the 11th IPL season. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals returned to IPL in 2018 and replaced Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions. The returning franchises were allowed to retain players from their respective 2015 squads who were not part of the squads of any of the other six teams in 2011. Hundred and sixty nine players (113 Indians and 56 from overseas) were sold at the auction. Rajasthan Royals topped the expensive buyers' list by adding Stokes for Rs 12.5 crore and Jaydev Unadkat for Rs 11.5 crore. However, both Stokes and Unadkat were unable to replicate their performance from the previous year and it was a disappointing buy for Rajasthan Royals.