The IPL's five most expensive buys

Price: Rs 16 crore (US $ 2.67 million)
Delhi Daredevils, 2015

Having released their big names before the auction, Delhi Daredevils had the largest purse. They invested a big chunk of that on Yuvraj Singh as they searched for a player who could be the face of the franchise. He may be out of favour with the national selectors, but is still clearly a favourite among IPL franchises.

Price: Rs 14 crore ($2.33 million)
Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2014

Yuvraj's 2015 deal broke his own record from last year, when Royal Challengers Bangalore sunk a huge sum on him despite already having a superstar trio of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers in their line-up.

Price: Rs 12.5 crore ($ 2.08 million)
Delhi Daredevils, 2014

Dinesh Karthik, who has been in and out of the India team, enjoyed stints with Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Price: Rs 10.5 crore ($1.75 million)
Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2015

After releasing Yuvraj before the auction, Royal Challengers chased Yuvraj again in 2015, but were beaten to the prize by Daredevils. Their second option for a marquee buy was Karthik, whom they secured for 10.5 crores. Royal Challengers have another wicketkeeper-batsman in their side - AB de Villiers.

Price: Rs 11.04 crore ($ 2.4 million)
Kolkata Knight Riders, 2011

After being released by Daredevils in 2011, Gambhir was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 11.04 crores and has captained the team to two IPL trophies since.

(USD values correspond to the rate at the time of the auction that year)