Jeddah, November 24: Indian wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant has become the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pant has been bought by Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) for Rs 27 crore in the mega auction going on for IPL 2025 in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Pant has surpassed Shreyas Iyer in this matter, who was sold for Rs 26.75 crore a short while ago. The auction process will run for two days, Sunday and Monday.
Rishabh Pant entered the auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore. Initially, there was a battle between LSG and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to buy him. In a short time, the bid on Pant crossed Rs 10 crore. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad also joined the race but LSG did not back down. Both the teams kept bidding for Pant and the price crossed 20 crores in no time. LSG bid Rs 20.75 crore for Pant. Here Hyderabad withdrew its hands. After this, Delhi Capitals used the Right to Match (RTM) card. Lucknow placed the final bid of Rs 27 crore for Pant and Delhi withdrew its hands. In this way, Pant became Lucknow’s for Rs 27 crore.
Rishabh Pant has represented Delhi Capitals throughout his IPL career from 2016 till now. He has scored 3,284 runs in 111 matches at an average of 35.31. During this, he has scored one century and 18 half-centuries. He was appointed the captain of the team in 2021. This year Delhi released him.
Shreyas Iyer gets Rs 26.75 crore-
Shreyas Iyer, who made Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) champions last year, has also been showered with money in the IPL 2025 auction. Punjab Kings have included him in their camp for a huge amount of Rs 26.75 crore. Shreyas Iyer is the second most expensive player.
First bid on Arshdeep-
The first bid was placed on fast Indian bowler Arshdeep Singh. Arshdeep was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 18 crore using the Right to Match (RTM) card. The bid on Arshdeep was started by Chennai Super Kings (CSK). There was a battle between CSK and Delhi Capitals to get Arshdeep. Later Rajasthan and Gujarat also bid. In the end, Sunrisers Hyderabad bid Rs 15.75 crore. After this, Punjab Kings were asked about using RTM for Arshdeep. Punjab showed interest in Arshdeep and used RTM. After this, Hyderabad put the final price of Arshdeep at Rs 18 crore, for which Punjab Kings agreed. In this way, using RTM, Punjab bought Arshdeep for Rs 18 crore.
Mitchell Starc went to Delhi-
Fast Australian bowler Mitchell Starc entered the auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore. KKR started the bid for him. Mumbai Indians showed interest. RCB also bid. In the end, Delhi Capitals bought Starc for Rs 11.75 crore.
Butler went to Gujarat Titans-
England wicketkeeper batsman Jos Buttler was bought by Gujarat Titans. His base price was Rs 2 crore. A battle was seen between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans for him. Lucknow also showed interest. In the end, Gujarat bought Butler for Rs 15.75 crore. Butler was released by Rajasthan Royals.
It is noteworthy that a total of 577 players are being bid on in the mega auction. These include both Indian and foreign players. In the auction, 10 franchises will be able to buy a maximum of 25 players and a minimum of 18 players.
