SRH’s season-wise costliest players from 2008–2025 reveal the franchise’s bold auction strategy ahead of the IPL 2026 mini auction. Photo: X.
IPL Auction 2026: With less than a month to go for the IPL mini auction, anticipation is building across franchises. The event will be held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 16. This will be the 19th edition of the IPL auction. This will also be the third time in tournament history that the bidding is conducted overseas.
All 10 franchises are set to participate, preparing to spend aggressively on key players as they reassess their squads.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who entered the league in 2013 after the dissolution of the Deccan Chargers, have emerged as one of the IPL’s most discussed teams. Owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group, the franchise won its maiden title in 2016 and has since appeared in two finals while reaching the playoffs in seven of 13 seasons.
Here is a complete year-by-year breakdown of SRH’s most expensive auction picks.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) entered the Indian Premier League in 2013 after the Deccan Chargers franchise was dissolved, bringing an end to the Hyderabad-based team that had competed since the league’s inaugural season. During their five-year run from 2008 to 2012, the Deccan Chargers invested in several high-profile players who shaped the team’s identity. Adam Gilchrist was their costliest buy in 2008 at ₹4.25 crore, followed by Andrew Symonds in 2009 for ₹5.35 crore. In 2010, the franchise secured young talent Rohit Sharma for ₹3 crore, before turning to the experienced Kumar Sangakkara in 2011 for ₹4.60 crore. Their final major acquisition came in 2012 with Cameron White, purchased for ₹3.30 crore, marking the end of an era before SRH took over the Hyderabad legacy in the IPL.
SRH’s inaugural auction saw them invest in the South African pacer for ₹4.80 crore to bring a lethal opening bowler to the squad.
The franchise’s most expensive signing that year was Australian opener David Warner for ₹5.5 crore, a move that proved transformational. Although Shikhar Dhawan’s retention cost was technically higher, Warner became the team’s most successful captain and led SRH to their 2016 title.
In 2015, SRH spent ₹3.5 crore to bring in New Zealand’s left-arm pacer Trent Boult. The franchise aimed to strengthen its pace attack with a genuine swing bowler capable of delivering early breakthroughs.
A major acquisition followed in 2016, with World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh joining the squad for ₹7 crore. The buy was intended to add experience, power hitting, and stability to the defending champions’ middle order.
SRH made one of their most iconic purchases in 2017, signing Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan for ₹4 crore. The move became one of the best value-for-money buys in IPL history, shaping SRH’s bowling identity for years.
The 2018 mega-auction saw a major investment in Indian middle-order batter Manish Pandey, acquired for ₹11 crore to reinforce the domestic batting core.
In 2019, SRH secured England wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow for ₹6.75 crore, a decision that immediately paid off as he formed a formidable opening pair with David Warner.
Australian explosive opener Dawid Warner became SRH’s top buy in 2020 for ₹12.50 crore.
The team made a bold move in the 2022 auction, spending ₹14 crore on New Zealand batter Kane Williamson.
The team made a bold move in the 2022 mega-auction, spending ₹10.75 crore on West Indies power-hitter Nicholas Pooran. The franchise aimed to finally resolve its long-standing finishing issues with his explosive batting.
In 2023, SRH invested heavily in rising English talent Harry Brook for ₹13.25 crore, betting on his aggressive batting to bolster the middle order for the future.
SRH set a new franchise record in 2024 by buying Australian captain Pat Cummins for ₹20.5 crore, a move intended to reshape both the bowling attack and leadership culture.
In 2025, the team made another headline-grabbing purchase, signing Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan for ₹11.25 crore.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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