IPL 2025 Mega Auction: Venkatesh Iyer Becomes Most Expensive Indian All-rounder; Former Australian Stalwart Goes Unsold

Venkatesh Iyer became the most expensive all-rounder in the IPL 2025 mega auction on Sunday as KKR paid ₹23.75 Crore for his services.

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia): While the first day of the IPL 2025 mega auction involved some expensive signings, the action also involved some star players going unsold. Venkatesh Iyer became the third player to breach the 20-crore mark while former Australia batter David Warner went unsold in the auction as no franchises put a bid on him. Also, Indian batter Devdutt Padikkal who is currently in Australia playing the Border Gavaskar Trophy got no bidders in the auction room.

After the auction for the players from the first two marquee sets was over, some of the batters and all-rounders went under the hammer. The franchise spent heavy amounts in the first two sets, but when it came to Venkatesh Iyer, the franchise fought hard to acquire his all-round qualities. Both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went all out for the player but the former eventually gave up. With a bid of ₹23.75 Crore, Venkatesh Iyer became the most expensive Indian all-rounder in the history of the tournament.

Venkatesh has featured in two ODIs and nine T20Is for the Indian team so far. The Indian all-rounder has 2705 T20 runs to his name. Venkatesh also became the third most expensive pick on the first day of the IPL mega auction after Rishabh Pant (₹27 Crores) and Shreyas Iyer (₹26.75 Crores).

In another surprising occurrence, Australian batter David Warner went unsold as he found no bidders while India batter Devdutt Padikkal also mate the same fate. Explosive England batter Jonny Bairstow also went unsold in the auction room on Sunday.