IPL 2026 | Rishabh Pant's struggle and Shreyas Iyer's success: How most expensive players performed last season

Franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) start planning for the season well before the cricket begins. A tournament is sometimes won at the auction table, with teams engaged in bidding wars.

On occasions the these bidding wars surpass all expectations, breaking records for money spent on a player. This year, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas purchase ever at Rs 25.2 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders. The same franchise also got Pacer Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 18 crore, while Chennai Super Kings bid big for uncapped duo of Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma, spending Rs 14.20 crore.

In the 2025 mega auction , several such records were broken with teams breaking banks to acquire players of their choice.

However, mega bucks does not guarantee great performances and some teams have had to rethink their spending, while a few have been brilliant investments.

Here's a look at how the highest paid players performed last year.

Rishabh Pant: Rs 27 crore

Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was acquired for a whooping Rs 27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants in the mega auction, becoming the most expensive player in IPL history.

However, Pant failed to live up to the price tag, scoring only 269 runs in 14 innings, including a century in the final group stage match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Even his leadership was not standout as his team finished seventh with only six wins.

Shreyas Iyer: Rs 26.75 crore

Moments before Pant became the most expensive player, Punjab Kings had secured Shreyas Iyer for Rs 26.50 crore. The batter was appointed the skipper and he had a stellar season, both with the bat and as a leader.

Iyer led PBKS to their first playoffs and final since 2014, while also smashing 604 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 175 and maintaining an average of over 50.

Venkatesh Iyer: Rs 23.50 crore

Following an intense bidding war, Kolkata Knight Riders bought back Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 23.75 crore. However, with no fixed batting position, Iyer struggled to prove his worth scoring a solitary half-century in 11 innings.

He managed to score only 142 runs at a middling average of 20 and a strike rate of 139 even as his team struggled to make an impact throughout the season.

Arshdeep Singh: 18 crore

Punjab Kings used the Right to Match card on the Indian left-arm pacer, getting him for Rs 18 crore. With the ability to swing the ball both ways and nail yorkers, Singh bowls the difficult overs in the powerplay and the death.

India's highest T20I wicket-taker played a pivotal run in PBKS' run, picking 21 wickets in 17 matches.

Yuzvendra Chahal: 18 crore

The veteran leg spinner went to PBKS last year for Rs 18 crore. Chahal struggled with his line and length in the first half of the season, leaking over 10 runs an over. However, his experience came to the fore in the second half.

Chahal ended the season with 16 wickets in 14 matches, including two four wicket hauls. He is the most successful bowler in IPL history with 221 wickets.