Most Expensive Wicketkeepers
The wicketkeeping batters category has been an elite one in the IPL. Keepers like Adam Gilchrist and MS Dhoni have even led sides to glory. They are the ones who are counted as allrounders. Most of the modern-day keepers are the ones who open the batting except for someone like MS Dhoni who is a proven finisher. Teams have often gone the distance to acquire keeper batters who could singlehandedly change the game. Let us look at the Most Expensive Wicketkeepers in detail.
We look at 5 most expensive wicketkeepers in the game:
#5 Sanju Samson – 14 crores
He made his IPL debut in 2012 knocking a fifty on debut. Sanju Samson has been a household name ever since then. He has been synonymous with Rajasthan Royals for the league parts. Samson was handed over captaincy duties in 2021. He led the side admirably in 2022 taking the team to the finals. Samson was Royals’ number one retention ahead of the mega auction in 2022. He was paid a whopping INR 14 crores.
#4 Ishan Kishan – 15.25 crores
The retention dynamics made it almost impossible for Mumbai to retain Ishan Kishan. They had to wait until the mega auction to acquire the keeper batter. Ishan Kishan is one of those rare players who could keep, field, open, and bat in the middle order. No wonder Mumbai had to battle it out hard in the auctions prizing out INR 15.25 crores for him. Kishan scored 400+ runs last season yet it seemed a tad too less. It was the high price tag that drove the narrative.
#3 Nicholas Pooran – 16 crores
He had a decent IPL season in 2022 but his high price tag proved to be overwhelming. SRH showed no hesitation in releasing Nicholas Pooran ahead of the 2023 mini-auctions. He didn’t have the greatest of times in the 2022 T20 World Cup. But he made a strong comeback in the T10 league in Abu Dhabi. He was always certain to fetch a huge number in the mini auctions. The Lucknow Supergiants went all the way to dish out INR 16 crores for Pooran.
#2 Rishabh Pant – 16 crores
He has represented only a single franchise so far. Rishabh Pant has been Delhi’s talisman right since he made his debut. He had an outstanding season in 2018. Pant has been part of the leadership group post the transition period. He was given the full-time captaincy in 2021 once Shreyas Iyer got injured.
For all his exploits in red-ball cricket, Pant is yet to fire on all cylinders in IPL and T20 cricket. He is Delhi’s marquee player though who retained Pant as their first-choice player for INR 16 crores.
#1 KL Rahul – 17 crores
He was touted to fetch the highest price once he made up his mind to move out of Punjab in 2022. KL Rahul didn’t even need to go to the auctions to become the highest-paid player last season. The Lucknow franchise bought him from the player draft itself. They paid him earth-shattering fees of INR 17 crores.
The management at Lucknow believed that KL Rahul is the complete package. He is a solid leader who opens the batting and can keep the wickets if needed. No wonder he tops the list of expensive wicketkeepers in the IPL.
