Srinagar: As 72 players went under the hammer on the penultimate day of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction 2025, two uncapped players from Jammu and Kashmir—Rasikh Salam Dar (pacer) and Abdul Samad (all-rounder)—secured contracts with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for Rs 6 crore and Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) for Rs 4.2 crore, respectively. Both players had registered for the auction with their base price set at Rs 30 lakh.
A total of 84 players were auctioned on the penultimate day of the IPL auction 2025 in Saudi Arabia city of Jeddah on Sunday. Among them, 72 players were bought by 10 IPL franchises, with the teams spending a whopping Rs 465.95 crore on the first day of the auction.
While Rishabh Pant at Rs 27 crore, Shreyas Iyer at Rs 26.75 crore, and Venkatesh Iyer at Rs 23.75 crore were the most expensive players on the first day,
Dar, who previously represented Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Delhi Capitals (DC), was bought by RCB after aggressive bidding.
During the auction, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and RCB engaged in aggressive bidding for Dar, thereby raising the price past the Rs 1 crore mark. At Rs 2 crore, SRH backed out, but DC then exercised their 'Right to Match' card. However, RCB managed to secure Dar for their final price of Rs 6 crore.
R in Rasikh stands for Raftaar! 🔥
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) November 24, 2024
Straight from the Jammu and Kashmir, ready to freeze the opposition with his icy pace, Rasikh Dar is #NowARoyalChallenger! 🤩#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPLAuction #BidForBold #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/kVOnD2isZK
Dar, in 11 IPL matches, has taken 9 wickets with an economy rate of 10.43 and a strike rate of 21.6. He has also scored 339 runs in three IPL seasons. In his five first-class matches, Dar has taken 13 wickets at an average of 25.23 with an economy rate of 3.39.
Meanwhile, big-hitter Abdul Samad was bought by LSG for Rs 4.2 crore. Just like Dar, the all-rounder from Jammu also triggered a fierce bidding war between LSG and RCB.
At Rs 1.5 crore, RCB opted out of the auction, but Punjab Kings (PBKS) jumped in, raising the bid to Rs 2 crore. LSG then made their final bid of Rs 4.2 crore to close the deal. SRH, who had retained Samad for three consecutive years, chose not to use their 'Right to Match' card this time.
In 50 IPL games, Samad has scored 577 runs at an average of 19.23. He has smashed 37 fours and 36 sixes, with a strike rate of 146.07. Overall in T20s, he has scored 1,413 runs from 84 matches, averaging 28.26. Samad has scored six first-class centuries, five of which were scored in fewer than 100 balls.
Muskurahat jaa hi nahi rahi 🥰💙 pic.twitter.com/AfAefDpUbS
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) November 25, 2024
On the final day of the auctions, scheduled for today, the fate of 13 players from J&K will be decided. They include Atif Mushtaq (bowler), Avinash Singh (bowler), Nasir Lone (all-rounder), Mujtaba Yousuf (bowler), Abid Mushtaq (all-rounder), Vivrant Sharma (all-rounder), Shubham Khajuria (batsman), Musaif Ajaz (batsman), Kunal Chibb (bowler), Yudhveer Singh (all-rounder), Umran Malik (bowler), Aquib Nabi (all-rounder), and Murugan Ashwin (bowler). Ashwin, who has played for teams like Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings, is a 'guest player' from J&K this year.
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