IPL 2019: Highest Paid IPL XI from the list of retained players

IPL 2019 is around the corner and all the IPL franchises are busy scouting for the players around the world to get their combination right in the IPL auctions. Most of the IPL franchises have retained their core group of players and will only need to fix a few leaks here and there.

Here we have compiled the highest paid IPL XI from all the retained players. The player who was retained with the highest price tag for each position in the XI is taken with due consideration given to the 4 Overseas player restriction. For compiling the Top Priced IPL 2019 XI after retentions, we have taken 1 overseas opener, 1 Indian opener, 3 Indian middle-order batsman, 2 overseas all-rounders, 1 Indian all-rounder, 2 Indian bowlers (one –spin and Fast-medium each) and an overseas bowler.

While an IPL franchise is allowed a total budget of 82 crores to buy a maximum of 25 players, our most expensive IPL XI will cost a staggering 125.1 Crore rupees. Let us see who the highest paid IPL players for each position were.

# 1 - Highest Paid Indian Opener of IPL 2019 - Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

Salary – ₹15 crore

Rohit Sharma is the regular opener in the shorter format for the Indian national team and it is no wonder that the Hitman is one of the most expensive players retained by the franchises. Though Rohit Sharma did not open the innings for Mumbai Indians due to various reasons, we have considered him as an opener for compiling our list of the most expensive IPL XI and he comfortably grabs the Indian opener slot ahead of K L Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Ajinkya Rahane.

Rohit Sharma is presently the captain of the Mumbai Indians and would be hoping IPL 2019 to be the season for Mumbai Indians to take the lead as the most successful IPL franchise. Rohit Sharma is undoubtedly the most expensive Indian opener in the most expensive IPL XI of retained players.

Indian Opener of the second most expensive IPL XI - K L Rahul (₹11 Crore) – Kings XI Punjab

#2 - Highest Paid Overseas Opener of IPL 2019 - David Warner (Sunrisers Hyderabad)

Salary – ₹12 crore

David Warner was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of IPL 2018, but he did not feature in the edition owing to the one year ban on the ball tampering saga. He was retained by Sunrisers at a salary of ₹12 crore and ahead of the IPL 2019, he was once again retained at the same salary.

David Warner clearly is the highest paid opener retained by IPL franchises and Sunrisers would expect him to repay the team with some stellar performances on his comeback from the ban. IPL 2019 will also be crucial for Warner considering that the Indian league will be the first or maybe the only major tournament he could play before staking a claim to the Australian national team for the ICC Cricket World cup. Few good knocks in IPL 2019 would give Australian selectors confidence that David Warner should be back in his rightful opener slot for Australia.

Overseas Opener of the Second most expensive XI - Chris Lynn (₹9.6 Crore) - Kolkata Knight Riders.

#3,4,5 – Highest Paid Indian Middle Order of IPL 2019 – Virat Kohli (No.3), Manish Pandey (No.4), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (No.5)

Virat Kohli – ₹17 Crore – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Manish Pandey - ₹11 Crore – Sunrisers Hyderabad

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - ₹15 crore – Chennai Super Kings

Having the likes of Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in your middle order would be a dream come true for any IPL team. These 3 comprise the most expensive top middle order in the XI ahead of the likes of Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Dinesh Karthik, and Shreyas Iyer.

Virat Kohli is the most expensive player in the league and takes up the number 3 slot. While Manish Pandey is apt for Number 4 position, Dhoni takes up the mantle of being the wicketkeeper and the Number 5 batsman in our XI.

Indian Middle Order of the Second most expensive IPL XI –

No. 3 - Suresh Raina - ₹11 crore – Chennai Super Kings

No.4 – Sanju Samson – ₹8 Crore – Rajasthan Royals

No.5 - Rishabh Pant– ₹8 Crore – Delhi Daredevils

Honourable mentions – It is important to note at this point the 2 Expensive Overseas middle order batsmen who did not find a place in our expensive XI due to the restriction on 4 overseas players. Steve Smith (₹12 Crore) of Rajasthan Royals and AB Devilliers (₹11 crore) of Royal Challengers Bangalore can walk into any IPL team on any day.

#6, 7 – Highest Paid Overseas All-rounders of IPL 2019 - Ben Stokes, Andre Russell

Ben Stokes – (₹12 Crore) - Rajasthan Royals

Andre Russell - (₹7 Crore) - Kolkata Knight Riders

Ben Stokes was the most expensive overseas recruit in the last IPL auctions. Though his performances in IPL 2018 were not par with the standards set by him in the previous editions of IPL, Rajasthan Royals have retained him in the squad with the same salary for IPL 2019.

Andre Russell has repaid the faith shown by Kolkata Knight Riders in him with some consistent knocks in the lower order to take the team to the finish line. His ever-growing reputation as a finisher has made KKR retain him for IPL 2019 at a decent salary of 7 Crore.

These 2 playmakers have taken the lead to be part of the most expensive IPL XI of retained players ahead of the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Shane Watson.

Overseas Allrounders of the Second most expensive IPL XI –

Dwayne Bravo – ₹6.4 Crore – Chennai Super Kings

Kieron Pollard – ₹5.4 Crore – Mumbai Indians

#8 - Highest Paid Indian Allrounder of IPL 2019 - Hardik Pandya – Mumbai Indians

Salary – ₹11 crore

Hardik Pandya is the most established Indian allrounder in the Indian national team and it is only logical that he would be the most expensive allrounder of the lot. Hardik Pandya has played only for a single IPL franchise ever since he started playing and has repaid the faith shown on him time and time again.

Hardik comes into the most expensive IPL XI of retained players ahead of the likes of his brother Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Krishnappa Gowtham.

Indian all-rounder of the Second most expensive IPL XI – Krunal Pandya (₹8.8 Crore) – Mumbai Indians

#9 Highest Paid Indian spin bowler of IPL 2019 - Ravichandran Ashwin – Kings XI Punjab

Salary – ₹7.6 crore

Ravichandran Ashwin has been a revelation in the last edition of IPL with him captaining the Punjab side. Though he made a few questionable calls, his captaincy and the man management skills were appreciated by experts and the team management. Ashwin was retained by the Preity Zinta owned side for IPL 2019 even though most of the coaching staff of the last season were sacked/parted ways.

Ashwin comes into our list of the most expensive IPL XI of retained players ahead of the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Karn Sharma.

Indian spin bowler of the Second most expensive IPL XI – Yuzvendra Chahal (₹6 Crore) – Royal Challengers Bangalore

#10 - Highest Paid Indian fast-medium bowler of IPL 2019 - Bhuvneshwar Kumar - Sunrisers Hyderabad

Salary – ₹8.5 crore

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is one of the best Indian bowlers of the present generation. His ability to swing the new ball and the smart bowling skills in the death overs makes him a dangerous bowler to have in your lineup. Bhuvneshwar was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a Price of 8.5 Crore and is clearly the highest paid Indian fast-medium bowler in the league among the retained players.

He comes into our list of the most expensive IPL XI of retained players ahead of the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.

Indian fast-medium bowler of the Second most expensive IPL XI – Jasprit Bumrah (₹7 Crore) – Mumbai Indians

# 11- Highest Paid Overseas Bowler of IPL 2019 - Rashid Khan - Sunrisers Hyderabad

Salary - ₹9 Crore

There is no doubt that Rashid Khan is the most effective overseas bowler in the T20 format. The mystery he holds to his bowling is now well formulated by the experience he has gained playing T20 cricket all over the world. Sunrisers Hyderabad does have the most penetrative bowling attack in the IPL largely due to the presence of this young man from war-torn Afghanistan.

He comes into our list as the overseas bowler of the most expensive IPL XI of retained players ahead of the likes of Sunil Narine, Andrew Tye, Jofra Archer, and Chris Morris.

Overseas bowler of the Second most expensive IPL XI – Sunil Narine (₹8.5 Crore) – Kolkata Knight Riders