IPL teams each had the opportunity to hold onto three players before the tournament's super auction later this month and Smith and Warner, who will captain Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively, were the only Australians to be retained.

India captain Virat Kohli saw his IPL income skyrocket to a competition record $3.4m as he was kept by Royal Challengers Bangalore but Smith and Warner are now the highest-priced Australians in the decade-long history of the T20 extravaganza, eclipsing the $2.1m Shane Warne was picked up for by Rajasthan in 2011.

The eye-watering sums for the six-week tournament equate to more than the pair will pocket from their Cricket Australia retainers for the year.

Smith is the highest-earning player on Australia's central contract list on a base salary of $2m while Warner collects about $1.4m before match payments, win bonuses and marketing fees.

Aside from Kohli, only fellow Indians MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings) and Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) saw their tournament incomes soar higher than Smith and Warner.

While no other Australians were retained by their IPL teams, players such as Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Lynn and Pat Cummins could still cash in as they go on the open market at the auction on January 27 and 28 in Bengalaru.

A new television deal valued at $3.2 billion over five years has given teams unprecedented spending power by lifting the tournament's salary cap by 20 per cent to about $16m.

Players who were not retained by their franchises could still end up remaining with them, with teams having right-to-match cards for up to three players at the auction.

Smith returns to Rajasthan after the readmission of the franchise, replacing the team he led in 2017, Rising Pune Supergiant, following a two-year ban.

Warner led Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL title in 2016 and he has emerged as the most prolific run scorer in the competition over the past two years.