IPL 2018: Most expensive players in each year of the tournament till now

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

Shane Watson in action for RCB.

Bangalore has made it a habit of spending huge on a marquee player in the auction and they did the same in the 2016 auction as well. Big burly all-rounder Shane Watson from Australia was always likely to attract big bids and it was the Bangalore franchise that snapped him up for 9.5 crore.

With him in their team, Bangalore boasted of a batting line-up which consisted of Kohli, Gayle, De Villiers and Watson - capable of destroying any bowling attack.

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

Ben Stokes was the best player for Pune in IPL 2017.

Ben Stokes ticks all the boxes for being considered a T20 superstar - a powerful hitter, a medium pace bowler with a number of variations and an athletic fielder. So, it was not a surprise as he emerged as the costliest player in the 2017 auction after being bought by the Pune franchise for 14.5 crore. He proved his worth as he emerged as Pune's most valuable player guiding them into the playoffs for the first time.

2018 - Ben Stokes ( Rajasthan Royals), 12.5 crore

As expected, Ben Stokes remained the costliest player in this year's auction too, as he was snapped up the usually miserly Rajasthan Royals for a sum of 12.5 crore. It remains to be seen how he performs for his new franchise after impressing in the previous edition.