He may not have played a T20I for India in nearly a year, but Shreyas Iyer remains a marquee name in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the first set of names up for auction in Jeddah, Iyer was snapped up by Punjab Kings for an astonishing 26.75 crores. That’s quite an outlay for a batter with an IPL career average of 127.48.
Iyer, who plays Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, started his IPL career in Delhi, and spent seven seasons there, including a spell as captain after Gautam Gambhir retired. His coach at Delhi Capitals in those later years was Ricky Ponting, now tasked with taking Punjab to the play-offs after more than a decade.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he spent three seasons and led them to the title in 2024, also showed interest initially, but were soon overtaken by the tug of war between Punjab and Delhi. Eyebrows were raised once the paddles kept being raised after the price zoomed past 20 crores, and Mitchell Starc – a 24.75-crore buy for KKR in the last auction – was soon left in the rear-view mirror. Delhi gave up only when it became clear they would have to shell out 27 crores to get the player.
Minutes later, Iyer’s record price was beaten as Lucknow Super Giants trumped Delhi’s Right to Match (RTM) card with an audacious 27-crore bid for Rishabh Pant, who had succeeded Iyer as the Capitals’ leader. The man Pant will surely replace as Lucknow captain, KL Rahul, also found a new team, with Delhi paying 14 crores for his services.
Rahul’s time in Lucknow was a mixed bag, with the overwhelming memory before the on-field dressing down from the team owner after a heavy defeat last season. His exploits in the ongoing West Test in Perth have done wonders for his reputation, though, and there was considerable interest in acquiring him.