IPL mega-auction: Rishabh Pant pips Iyer to become costliest player

Jeddah: Generational talent Rishabh Pant pipped Shreyas Iyer to become the costliest buy in IPL's history with a Rs 27 crore winning bid from Lucknow Super Giants as teams expectedly went the extra mile for marquee Indian players at the mega auction here on Sunday.

Iyer, who captained the Kolkata Knight Riders to the title earlier this year, and Delhi Capitals' icon Pant, reaped the benefits of making themselves available at the auction following differences with their respective teams.

Iyer was the first one to surpass Mitchell Starc as the IPL's most expensive buy with cash-heavy Punjab Kings shelling out Rs 26.75 crore for their potential captain before Pant overtook the fellow Indian by attracting Rs 25 lakh more from LSG.

Former DC teammates Iyer and Pant have had to deal with adversity in the past couple of years but have shown remarkable resilience and courage to bounce back.

Pant beat all odds to make a successful comeback after a life-threatening car accident in 2022 while Iyer put behind his exclusion from the BCCI central contracts list to lead KKR to their third IPL trophy earlier this year.

Delhi Capitals expectedly enabled the Right To Match to buy back Pant at Rs 20.75 crore but LSG raised the bid to Rs 27 crore and the former decided against matching that amount.

Both Iyer and Pant are expected to lead their new teams in IPL 2025, which will begin March 14.

"I haven't spoken to Shreyas Iyer yet on captaincy. I called him before the auction, but he didn't pick up. He's been a successful IPL captain, I'm delighted to work with him again," said new Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting who spent time with Iyer at Delhi Capitals.

Iyer responded to his move to PBKS by being expectedly "elated" and said he is looking forward to the stint.

Among the second set of players, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal drew an impressive winning bid of Rs 18 crore from Punjab Kings while former LSG captain KL Rahul turned out to be a bargain buy for Delhi Capitals at Rs 14 crore.

Chahal, who was dropped from the Indian team despite not getting a game in its victorious T20 World Cup campaign, was released by Rajasthan Royals ahead of the mega auction. However, his latest price tag suggests he remains a sought after player in the IPL.

India pacer Mohammed Shami, who recently made a comeback from injury, was bought by SunRisers Hyderabad for Rs 10 crore.

Among others, Punjab Kings bought back left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh for Rs 18 crore via RTM while South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, who was released by Punjab Kings, was bought for Rs 10.75 crore by Gujarat Titans.

Arshdeep was the first player to be sold in the mega auction and he ended up fetching the same price that Punjab Kings would have had to pay to retain him as their leading player.

This is the second time an IPL auction is being held outside the country after last year's event in Dubai.

Australian veteran Starc got a much lower price than last year's Rs 24.75 crore this time and was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs 11.75 crore.

England's Jos Buttler went to Gujarat Titans for Rs 15.75 crore.