Will Rishabh Pant become the first Indian player to breach the Rs 25 crore mark in the IPL auction? Or will that honour go to Arshdeep Singh or Shreyas Iyer?
Pant, Arshdeep, and the in-form Iyer—who smashed a blazing century (130 not out off just 57 balls) for Mumbai against Goa in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in Hyderabad on Saturday—are set to laugh all the way to the bank when the two-day IPL mega auction kicks off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Add to the mix KL Rahul, impressive in the ongoing Perth Test, and fans are bracing for a spectacle.
IPL 2025 AuctionThanks to his stroke play and leadership skills, Pant is widely expected to emerge as the highest-paid player among the 577 individuals going under the hammer. However, Arshdeep Singh, India’s 2024 T20 World Cup hero and joint highest wicket-taker (17 wickets), could surprise with his price tag. Arshdeep’s ability to swing the new ball and excel at the death has made him a hot commodity.
The 10 franchises have a cumulative Rs 641.5cr purse to fill up to 204 slots. Punjab Kings (PBKS), with Rs 110.5cr in their kitty, are expected to go all out for Pant. Having failed to retain him earlier, they may also use their Right-to-Match (RTM) card to keep Arshdeep. PBKS could even target Shreyas Iyer, reuniting him with Ricky Ponting, their new head coach, who worked with Pant and Iyer at Delhi Capitals in the 2020 IPL season.
RCB (Rs 83cr available) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are also likely contenders for Pant, potentially setting up a three-way bidding war. RCB seems keen to make Pant their captain.
Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals (DC) are not expected to use the RTM card for him. Instead, they may target Shreyas Iyer, who recently led the Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title.
Considering that they have hardly anything left in their purse, the IPL’s two big guns, the Mumbai Indians (only Rs 45cr remaining) and the Chennai Super Kings, are unlikely to bid for Pant, Iyer, or Arshdeep.
KL Rahul, though not currently part of India’s T20 setup, remains an attractive option due to his captaincy and wicketkeeping skills. Teams like RCB, KKR, CSK, GT, and PBKS are reportedly interested in him. Washington Sundar is also expected to fetch a high price. Franchises such as MI, GT, CSK, RCB, PBKS, and SRH have expressed interest, with SRH likely to use the RTM card for him.
Fast bowlers will be highly sought after, especially with the introduction of two bouncers per over in IPL 2024. Key Indian pacers like Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are all likely to attract significant bids.
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