India (Commonwealth) _ After being acquired by the Lucknow Super Giants for 27 crore (£2.54 million) at the Saudi Arabian super auction, Rishabh Pant became the most costly player in the history of the Indian Premier League.
The Super Giants and his old team, the Delhi Capitals, engaged in a bidding war for the 27-year-old Indian wicketkeeper. Pant, making his IPL comeback after a 14-month layoff due to a vehicle accident, surpassed the record that Punjab Kings set earlier in the day when they signed Shreyas Iyer for 26.75 crore (£2.51m).
Australian seamer Mitchell Starc, who held the record prior to the auction, signed with the Capitals for 11.75 crore (£1 million), a price slightly less than the 24.75 crore (£2.3 million) he received when he joined the Kolkata Knight Riders the previous season.
The first group of players auctioned off in Jeddah included Jos Buttler as the only Englishman. The Gujarat Titans paid 15.75 crore (£1.4 million) for the England wicketkeeper and white-ball skipper.
The Rajasthan Royals, where Jofra Archer won player of the tournament in 2020–21, will pay 12.5 crore (£1.18 million) to welcome him back. From the second group of players, Liam Livingstone joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for 8.75 crore (£796,000). He later joined Phil Salt, the opener, for 11.5 crore (£1 million).
The Delhi Capitals paid 6.25 crore (£590,000) to re-sign Harry Brook. After his grandma passed away, Brook, who had been selected by the Capitals in the mini auction held in December of last year, decided not to play in the 2024 IPL.
The team also acquired Jake Fraser-McGurk, an Australian batsman who scored four half-centuries for the Capitals the previous season, for 9 crore (£850,000). Ricky Ponting’s Punjab Kings acquired Australian all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis for 4.2 crore (£390,000) and 11 crore (£1.03m), respectively.
In other news, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who played for the Chennai Super Kings from 2008 to 2015, returned for 9.75 crore (£927,000). Under the leadership of former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, CSK acquired Black Caps players Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra for 6.25 (£590,000) and 4 (£378,000) crore, respectively.
Among the players who have not yet been purchased are former Australia opener David Warner and England’s Jonny Bairstow, but they may be acquired later in the auction. On Sunday and Monday, hundreds of players will be up for grabs at the IPL’s massive auction, where teams hope to bolster their rosters following October retentions.
At Sunday’s 2025 super auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Shreyas Iyer became the most expensive player ever to be auctioned off in the IPL before minutes Pant became the highest-paid franchise player in the history of the competition.
Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals pursued Shreyas, pushing his base price of INR 2 crore above the previous record of INR 24.75 crore. In the end, PBKS paid INR 26.75 crore to sign him. In the previous season, the Indian batter guided the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL championship.
Shreyas broke the record that Australian bowler Mitchell Starc had set. The Kolkata Knight Riders purchased Starc at the final auction in Dubai for INR 24.75 crore, making him the most costly acquisition in Indian Premier League history.
Sunrisers Hyderabad broke the previous record when they sold Pat Cummins for INR 20.5 cr earlier in the auction. This marks the second time the auction has taken place outside of India, following the 2024 IPL Auction in Dubai.
The BCCI has selected 208 international cricket players and 366 Indian players for the 2025 IPL Auction. Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Jos Buttler, and Shreyas Iyer are among the formidable candidates expected to spark bidding wars.
A Sports Star story claims that the auction process began in US dollars (USD/$) for the first few IPL games before switching to Indian Rupees (Rs) in 2014.
2008: According to the report, clubs spent $36.43 million in the first IPL tournament.
2009–2013: According to the report, the following editions’ expenses were all in USD: $7.65 million in 2009, $3.65 million in 2010, $62.775 million in 2011, $10.995 million in 2012, and $11.885 million in 2013.
