5 absolute steals made at the IPL auction

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, it will be interesting to see which players turn out to be absolute steals.

With the IPL 2025 auction in a week, it’s a good time to remember some of the best buys made by franchises at the auction table. From time to time, franchises make blunders when it comes to paying big bucks to players based on one good season or immense potential. However, teams also gain massive fortunes by following the same pattern by betting on up-and-coming talents. So, here are the 5 absolute steals made by franchises at the IPL auctions.

5 absolute steals made at the IPL Auction

Player	Team	Purchase Year	Price
Sanju Samson	Rajasthan Royals	2013	₹ 10 lakh
Hardik Pandya	Mumbai Indians	2015	₹ 10 lakh
Dwayne Bravo	Chennai Super Kings	2011	₹ 92 lakh
David Miller	Kings XI Punjab*	2011	₹ 46 lakh
Rinku Singh	Kolkata Knight Riders	2018	₹ 80 lakh

Hardik Pandya

The young all-rounder was bought for Rs. 10 lakh in 2015 by the Mumbai Indians (MI). Since then, Pandya has become the 7th highest run-scorer and wicket-taker for the franchise. Pandya could also helm the role of skipper at the MI in the coming years after making a return to the franchise after two years. Currently, Pandya earns Rs. 15 crore, which is 150 times more than what he originally received.

Sanju Samson

The current skipper of the Rajasthan Royals was bought for just Rs. 10 lakh in 2013 IPL auction. The batter was just 19 at the time and was picked up after seeing his massive potential. Since that pick, Samson has become the first player to score 3,000 runs for the franchise. Currently, Samson draws Rs. 14 crore, which is 140x more than what he originally received.

David Miller

Just a year after his international debut in 2010, the South African southpaw was picked up for Rs. 46 lakh by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). The batter spent nine seasons with the franchise, drawing as high as Rs. 12.5 crore. During his time with Punjab, Miller ended up being the third-highest run-scorer and became their most-capped player in history.

Rinku Singh

One of the best finishers going around, the left-hander was picked for Rs. 80 lakh by KKR in 2018. The batter was their highest run scorer in the 2023 edition and will forever be remembered for his last-over heroics against the Gujarat Titans. Rinku currently gets Rs. 5.5 crore, which is 6 times more than what he originally received.

Dwayne Bravo

The former West Indies all-rounder was already an established player when he was picked by CSK at the 2011 IPL auction. The all-rounder ended his IPL career in 2022 as CSK’s highest wicket-taker. Apart from that, Bravo also scored 1280 runs for the franchise (10th most). Compared to his original Rs. 92 lakh, Bravo earned as high as Rs. 6.4 crore with the franchise.