New Delhi: The baton for being Indian Premier League’s costliest player changed from hands within minutes in the mega action in Jeddah on Sunday. Minutes after Punjab Kings shelled out Rs 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer, Lucknow Super Giants made Risabh Pant the most expensive player in the tournament’s history with a winning bid of Rs 27 crore.
As Shreyas led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title last year and pant is one of the most eye-grabbing batters in world cricket, big bids were expected for them.
But Venkatesh Iyer emerged as the surprise show-stopper at the auction, attracting a whopping Rs 23.75 crore as KKR used the right to match (RTM) card to bring him after initially deciding not to retain him.
Big-hitting all-rounder Venkatesh has been with KKR for a number of years and was in the middle of an intense bidding battle between KKR and Royal Challengers Bengaluru that increased his price.
Shreyas also received similar interest from franchises as Punjab made their potential skipper the costliest player momentarily, surpassing Mitchell Starc’s Rs 24.75 crore record fee last year.
LSG, though had other ideas. As soon as bids were sought for Pant, LSG and Delhi Capitals were involved in a fierce battle. Delhi used the RTM card to buy back Pant at Rs 20.75 crore but LSG upped the bid to Rs 27 crore to get the much-sought after keeper-batter.
Chahal, Arshedeep go for big money
Punjab Kings splurged Rs 18 crore for experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal while former LSG captain KL Rahul was snapped up for by Delhi Capitals at Rs 14 crore.
Star India pacer Mohammed Shami went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 10 crore while left arm seamer Arshdeep Singh was retained by Punjab for Rs 18 crore via the RTM card.
Released Punjab speedster Kagiso Rabada went to Rs 10.75 crore by Gujarat Titans. Australia pacer Mitchell Starc’s stakes dropped from last year’s Rs 24.75 crore to Rs 11.75 crore as Delhi Capitals bagged him.
England’s destructive batter Jos Buttler landed at Gujarat Titans for Rs 15.75 crore. Veteran India spinner R Ashwin returned to Chennai Super Kings for Rs 9.75 crore to secure Ashwin.
CSK also brought back Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra for Rs 6.25 crore and Rs 4 crore, respectively.
Delhi agreed to pay Rs 9 crore to destructive Australian batter Jake Fraser McGurk via RTM but his compatriot David Warner went unsold at his base price of Rs 2 crore, as did India batter Devdutt Padikkal, though they could be bought in the accelerated auction on Monday.
Pacers in demand
Pacers were much sought after RCB paid Rs 12.5 crore to Josh Hazlewood while Prasidh Krishna went to Gujarat Titans for Rs 9.5 crore. LSG spent Rs 9.75 crore for Avesh Khan while Mumbai Indians agreed to shell out Rs 12.5 crore for Trent Boult.
Fit-again England pacer Jofra Archer was another pacer who went for big money, getting Rs 12.5 crore bid from Rajasthan Royals.
Among capped spinners, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad got a lot of attention with CSK shelling out Rs 10 crore.
A total of Rs 467.50 crore were spent on 72 players on the first day of the auction.
IPL 2025 mega auction – Full coverage
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Rishabh Pant becomes most expensive player in IPL history
Top overseas buys
Buttler sold to GT, Delhi Capitals rope in Starc
New team for Shami
Mohammed Shami sold to SRH for Rs 10 crore
Most expensive spinner
Chahal becomes most expensive Indian spinner in IPL
Star batter-keeper Rishabh Pant became the most expensive buy in IPL’s history with a Rs 27 crore winning bid from Lucknow Super Giants. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
