Rishabh Pant has become the most expensive player in IPL history after he was sold to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 27 crore (USD 3.2 million) on the first day of
the mega auction in Jeddah. He surpassed the mark set by Punjab Kings (PBKS), who bid INR 26.75 crore (USD 3.18 million) to buy
Shreyas Iyera few minutes earlier.
Both LSG and PBKS were in need of new captains this season and Pant and Shreyas will likely fill those roles for them. They surpassed the record INR 24.75 crore bid that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had made for
Mitchell Starc at the IPL 2024 auction.
LSG and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) began the bidding for Pant, with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) joining in once RCB dropped out. SRH and LSG took the bid to 20.75 crore, at which point SRH dropped out and Pant was sold to LSG. The auctioneer then asked Delhi Capitals (DC) if they wanted to use a right-to-match (RTM) option to buy back Pant, and DC said yes. According to the new RTM rules at this auction, the team that won the bidding were given another opportunity to raise their bid, which LSG did from INR 20.75 crore to INR 27 crore. DC said they did not want to match that bid, which meant Pant was sold to LSG.
Shreyas was the third player up for sale from the first set of marquee players and KKR opened the bidding in an attempt to buy back their title-winning captain. However, they dropped out of the bidding at INR 10 crore, after which DC and PBKS were competing for Shreyas, with both teams needing captains. PBKS, who came in with the largest purse of INR 110.5 crore, won the bid at INR 26.75 crore.
PBKS also bought the first player up for sale on the day, buying back
Arshdeep Singh for INR 18 crore. They exercised their RTM option after SRH raised their final bid for Arshdeep from INR 15.75 crore to INR 18 crore.
New homes for Buttler, Starc and Rabada
Rajasthan Royals (RR) tried to buy back
If Buttler but were unsuccessful. After competition from PBKS and LSG, GT were able to buy Buttler for INR 15.75 crore (US$ 1.88 million), to partner Shubman Gill at the top of their order and keep wicket.
KKR and MI began the bidding for Starc, with RCB also showing interest before he was eventually bought by DC for INR 11.75 crore, which is a massive pay cut from his erstwhile record price of INR 24.75 crore last year.
GT began the auction with the third-largest purse of INR 73 crore and managed to buy a second player – South Africa fast bowler
Kagiso Rabada – from the first marquee set, staving off competition from RCB and MI to buy him for INR 10.75 crore.
https://icct20worldnews.com/ipl-auction-2025-lucknow-buy-rishabh-pant-shreyas-iyer-goes-to-punjab-kings/