Royal Challengers Bangalore's Biggest Splashes: 5 Most Expensive Buys in IPL Auction History

The Indian Premier League(IPL) 2024 auction is just around the corner with all the teams busy in planning to build a champion team. There have been some successful and unsuccessful IPL teams, but there is one team that has still got a rich history despite not getting their hands on the trophy. The team is none other than Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB). The team has one of the biggest fan following in the IPL with a lot of loyal fans. It also features some of the best players in the league as well. RCB has made it to 3 IPL finals but haven’t tasted victory in spite of having some of the best players in the world

The team has had their fair share of legendary RCB players right from Anil Kumble to Virat Kohli. It is no surprise why this team is loved by all and has won a lot of hearts, but with no title to their name still is heartbreaking for them. Every year fans hope that the trophy can come to Bangalore just once. The men in red have won everyone's support, but now will finally look to win some gold in the upcoming season. With Faf Du Plessis at the helm of affairs will also be looking to win the title and give the fans something to cheer about.

Considering the rich history of the franchise, there is no surprise that they have been spending a lot of money on some big players as well. The RCB have got a great set of players throughout the years and they might be looking to make some big buys in this auction as well. The number of big buys made by RCB have led to some great performance and some disappointment as well. It will be interesting to know who have been their most expensive players.

Let's take a look at the 5 most expensive players for RCB throughout their time in the IPL: 

5. Harshal Patel 

Harshal Patel surprised everyone in the 2021 IPL by winning the purple cap and also equalling the record of Dwayne Bravo of taking the most wickets in a season. It made sense that Harshal Patel was bought by the same side in the mega auction in 2022 for 10.75 cr. During the 2022 season he might have not broken records, but still had a decent season where he took 19 wickets from 15 games. The last season however was not really the best season for the 32 yr old paceman which led to him being released by the Bangalore franchise.

4. Tymal Mills 

Tymal Mills was one of the most expensive players in IPL 2017 when he was bought for 12 cr by Royal Challengers Bangalore. This also made one of the most expensive overseas players in IPL history. He was a left arm pacer who could bowl at 140 k’s and had a lot of variations. However he couldn’t live up to the price tag  with only 5 wickets in 5 matches at an economy of over 11. After that Mills was only seen in the IPL last year where he once again failed to perform while playing for Mumbai Indians.

3. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh was one of the most expensive players in the IPL in 2014 and was bought by RCB for 14 cr. RCB had spent a lot of money on the destructive southpaw who has also been a major icon in international cricket. Unfortunately Yuvraj had an underwhelming season in 2014 where he struggled with inconsistency. There was a lot more expected from Yuvraj than scoring 376 runs from 14 matches. This was not the performance which was worthy for a player like Yuvraj Singh and was released after this season.

2. Glenn Maxwell

After failing for Punjab last season it looked uncertain if anyone would buy Glenn Maxwell at the IPL auction in 2021. However RCB chose to bag the big show for 14.25 cr making him one of the expensive players in the auction. This also might have been one of the best decisions made by RCB as Maxwell was one of the best batters for RCB in the season. Maxwell went on to score 513 runs from 15 matches at an average of over 40 and a great strike rate of 144. After this Maxwell is now one of the key players in the RCB batting lineup and is still in good form.

1.. Kyle Jamieson

Kyle Jamieson was another big purchase made by RCB in the 2021 Auction. The tall kiwi pacer was bought by the franchise for a whopping 15 cr. He was not only the most expensive player RCB ever bought, but also one of the most expensive players in IPL history. There was a lot of expectation from Jamieson looking at how he was performing in international cricket as well. With only 9 wickets at an economy over 9 its safe to say that he was one of the biggest failures for RCB in the season despite breaking some records in the auction.