IPL 2025 Auction: Rishabh Pant Becomes Most Expensive Player In IPL History; Shreyas Goes To PBKS For Rs 26.75 Cr

Rishabh Pant became the most expensive pick in the history of the tournament as PBKS bought him for a value of ₹27 Crores.

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia):The first marquee set of the IPL mega auction saw franchises splashing money to acquire the services of six players which included three Indians and three overseas players.

Punjab Kings was the active franchise in the auction as they acquired the services of a couple of players in the form of Arshdeep Singh (₹18 Crore) and Shreyas Iyer (₹26.75 Crores). Gujarat Titans (GT) strengthened their pace bowling unit by roping in South African pacer Kagiso Rabada (₹10.75 Crores). Also, they added a wicketkeeper-batter to the team in the form of Jos Buttler by paying ₹15.75 Crore for him. Mitchell Starc was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) for ₹11.75 Crores.

Pant became the most expensive player in the history of IPL as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) splurged a jaw-dropping Rs 27 crore in the tournament's mega auction here on Sunday. Pant joined LSG after his former franchise, Delhi Capitals, chose not to use the Right to Match (RTM) card to reacquire him.

The amount LSG spent for Pant ensured Shreyas Iyer's record of being the tournament's costliest player lasted barely a few minutes after Punjab Kings (PBKS) broke the bank to buy the India batter for Rs 26.75 crore.

Moments before Pant emerged as the most expensive player, Iyer surpassed the record held by Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 24.75 crore in the last auction. Starc got a much lower price this time and was sold to Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 11.75 crore, while England's Jos Buttler went to Gujarat Titans (GT) for Rs 15.75 crore.

Among others, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh's consistency earned him a massive bid of Rs 18 crore, also from Punjab Kings via the RTM card, while South African speedster Kagiso Rabada was bought for Rs 10.75 crore by Gujarat Titans.

Kagiso Rabada was the next pacer to go under the hammer and he was bought by Gujarat Titans for a value of ₹10.75 Crores as they beat RCB in the bidding war.

England batter Jos Buttler went to Gujarat Titans for ₹15.75 Crore. Mumbai Indians, KKR, DC and RCB fought a battle for Mitchell Starc with the Delhi-based franchise acquiring his services at a value of ₹11.75 Crores.