Every year alongside the Indian Premier League, the auctions are an event in itself. The IPL auctions over the years have seen massive interest from fans and media. It is the 'auctions' that make IPL one of the richest sporting leagues in the world. And of course the prize money as well. So far we have witnessed 12 IPL auctions, since the league’s inception in 2008. IPL 2019 Auctions Live News Updates.

Indian and Australian players have been the biggest winners from the IPL Auctions over the years. Apart from them, England all-rounder emerged as the expensive player twice in a row for IPL 2017 and 2018 seasons. Interestingly, till the 2013 IPL auction, the bidding currency was in dollars and was subsequently changed to Rs.

Franchises have shelled out extra money to buy players who would fit their squad and the trend is seen in every IPL auction. Apparently, it is the all-rounders who dominate the list of the most expensive players in IPL. Meanwhile, let's take a season-by-season look at the costliest players at IPL auctions: IPL 2019 Player Auction: Yuvraj Singh Goes Unsold in the First Round of the Auctions.

2008 IPL Auction: At the inaugural action, it was MS Dhoni who emerged as the costliest pick. The then Indian T20I captain was bought by Chennai Super Kings for USD 1.5 Million. Except for IPL 2016 and 2017 season, Dhoni has been with CSK since then. In 2016 and 2017 MSD represented Rising Pune Supergiant after Super Kings were suspended.

2009 IPL Auction: Former England players Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen emerged as the expensive picks at the 2009 edition of IPL auction. While all-rounder Flintoff was snapped by Chennai Super Kings, Pietersen went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for USD 1.55 Million.

2010 IPL Auction: 2010 edition of IPL auction saw joint-expensive players once again. Shane Bond and Kieron Pollard were picked by Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians respectively for USD 0.75 Million.

2011 IPL Auction: Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir emerged as the costliest pick at the 2011 IPL auction after he was snapped by Kolkata Knight Riders from Delhi Daredevils for USD 2.4 Million. Gambhir eventually helped KKR win two titles (2012 and 2014) under his captaincy.

2012 IPL Auction: At the 2012 edition of IPL auction, Chennai Super Kings broke the bank to bring on board all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for USD 2 Million. IPL 2019 Player Auction: Rajasthan Royals Buy Jaydev Unadkat Again for Rs 8.4 Crore; Mohammad Shami Sold to KXIP for Rs 4.8 crore, Ishant Sharma Goes for Rs 1.1 Crore to Delhi Capitals.

2013 IPL Auction: Flamboyant Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell was picked by Mumbai Indians for USD 1 Million at the 2013 IPL auction, the highest for any player that season.

2014 IPL Auction: Royal Challengers Bangalore spent whopping INR 14 crores to buy the services of Yuvraj Singh. Though the southpaw failed to live up to the expectations. During the same auction, Delhi Daredevils now Delhi Capitals bought Dinesh Karthik for INR 12.5 Crores.

2015 IPL Auction: Yuvraj Singh once again attracted the highest bid in the 2015 IPL auction. Delhi Daredevils bought the left-hander for whopping INR 16 Crores. Interestingly, Dinesh Karthik was picked by RCB for INR 10.5 Crores in the same edition.

2016 IPL Auction: Suspension of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2016 meant that Royal Challengers Bangalore were able to hire former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson’s services for INR 9.5 Crores.

2017 IPL Auction: England all-rounder Ben Stokes managed to make home INR 14.5 Crores at the 2017 IPL auction. Stokes was picked by now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants. Shimron Hetmyer Sold to RCB for 4.2 Crore, Carlos Brathwaite Goes to KKR for 5 Crore; Delhi Capitals Get Axar Patel for 5 Crore.

2018 IPL Auction: In a repeat of 2017 auctions, Stokes once again emerged as the costliest pick in 2018 IPL auctions. The England all-rounder was snapped by Rajasthan Royals, who were back from two-year suspension, for a whopping INR 12.5 Crores. Royals also bought the second expensive player Jaydev Unadkat for INR 11.5 Crores.

The 2019 IPL auction is currently underway and as of now, Rajasthan Royals have shelled out INR 8.40 Crores once again for Unadkat. Also, Kings XI Punjab bought little-known all-rounder Varun Chakaravarthy for the same amount.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 18, 2018 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).