IPL Mega Auction: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer knock it out of the park

Star wicket-keeper most expensive player at Rs 27 cr; Shreyas, Venkatesh bag hefty pay cheques

The bids soared as frequently as the sixes rolled off his bat, as India’s star wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant pipped top-order batter Shreyas Iyer to become the most expensive Indian Premier League (IPL) signing in the marquee league’s history.

 

At Sunday’s star-studded mega auction in Jeddah, there was drama and suspense, justifying the hype around Pant, who was released by Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the auction.

 

Amid the frenetic bidding came the twist.

 

DC enabled the 'Right To Match' to buy back Pant at Rs 20.75 crore, not before RP Sanjiv Goenka Group-owned Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) raised the bid to Rs 27 crore to clinch the deal. 

 

Earlier in the evening, Punjab Kings (PBKS), formerly known as Kings XI Punjab spendRs 26.75 crore on Shreyas after another bidding war with DC.   

 

 

“I haven't spoken to Shreyas Iyer yet on captaincy. I called him before the auction, but he didn't pick up. He's been a successful IPL captain, I'm delighted to work with him again,” said PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting, who spent time with Iyer at Delhi Capitals, was quoted as saying by PTI.

 

All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, was snapped up by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Mehta Group-owned Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who splurged Rs 23.75 crore to bring him back to the franchise.

 

Iyer was instrumental in KKR’s title-winning march last year.

 

He is also expected to captain his new IPL franchise.

 

Among the other Indian players, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal drew an impressive winning bid of Rs 18 crore from Punjab Kings, while former LSG captain KL Rahul turned out to be a bargain buy for DC at Rs 14 crore.

 

Former Australia opener David Warner had no takers on the opening day of the auction as he went unsold at a base price of Rs 2 crore.

 

Stylish Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal, who is currently featuring in the ongoing Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth, also went unsold.

 

A total of 84 players were open for auction on the first day of the mega auction.

 

There are 366 Indian players, 208 overseas players and three players from the associate nations (USA and Scotland) in the IPL mega auction 2025. The highest base price in the auction is Rs 2 crore with 81 players opting to be in the highest bracket, according to the IPL website. The auction started with the cumulative amount of all IPL team's funds totalling Rs 641.5 crore.

 

This is the second time that an IPL auction is being held outside India after last year’s event in Dubai.