IPL auction 2019: Varun Chakravarthy to Shivam Dube, here are the top 5 most expensive players

The Indian Premier League is known to make millionaires out of unknown entities and the auction for the 2019 edition of the T20 league did not disappoint.

With the 2019 World Cup casting a shadow of uncertainty over the participation of quality foreigners, the Indian pacers earned big bucks. Jaydev Unadkat led the charge once again ending up as the highest earning Indian quick man.

But the big story coming out of the auction was that of two uncapped Indian players – Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Dube, both of whom had a base price of Rs 20 lakh and no previous IPL experience.

Shivam Dube, a star of the T20 Mumbai League, as predicted caused activity among the franchises bagging a Rs 5 crore contract from Royal Challengers Bangalore. But the real story of this year's auction came at the behest of Kings XI Punjab who bought Varun Chakravarthy, an unknown spinner from Tamil Nadu, for a whopping Rs 8.4 crore.  

Here are the highest earners from the 2019 IPL auction:

Varun Chakravarthy – Rs 8.4 crore

An architect by degree, Varun had quit the game after being rejected multiple times in age-group cricket. But tennis ball cricket rekindled his passion and he took up pace bowling. But an injury forced him to try bowling some spin. Now, Varun is a Kings XI Punjab player bought at 42-time his base price. What a journey!

Jaydev Unadkat – Rs 8.4 crore

The left-arm pacer must have done something right to be earning a tad under Rs 20 crore in the span of two years. Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 11.5 crore last year and after a disappointing campaign released him. In dire need of Indian fast bowlers, Rajasthan has re-acquired his services for yet another mind-boggling amount.

Sam Curran – Rs 7.2 crore

Hardly anyone was surprised to see the bidding war that ensued to secure the signature of this 20-year-old. Curran is currently one of the hottest properties in the game of cricket and his all round abilities make him a priceless addition to any squad. In the 2019 edition of the IPL, the Englishman will be plying his trade for Kings XI Punjab

Colin Ingram – Rs 6.4 crore

The 33-year-old was snapped up by the newly renamed franchise of Delhi Capitals. Ingram represented the Delhi franchise in 2011 and makes his return after 8 years. Ingram has scored 5,186 runs in 202 T20 matches with a strike rate of 139.29. The wicket-keeper batsman has 3 hundreds and 32 half-centuries to his name in the shortest format.

Shivam Dube – Rs 5 crore

Another unknown entity before the IPL, Dube grabbed eyeballs in the Mumbai cricketing circles when he hit Praveen Tambe for five 6s in one over in the 2018 edition of the T20 Mumbai League. Apart from his big-hitting, Dube is a handy medium pace bowler and will be seen in Royal Challengers Bangalore colours in IPL 2019.

There were three other players who were sold for Rs 5 crore.

Carlos Brathwaite will return to Eden Gardens and play for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Axar Patel has made the short journey from Punjab to Delhi and will represent Delhi Capitals.

Mohit Sharma will return to his old franchise Chennai Super Kings.