Rishabh Pant, the India wicket-keeper-bat, broke the record for the most expensive player in an IPL auction. He was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping INR 27 crores. Pant surpassed the INR 26.75 crores mark set by Shreyas Iyer, his India teammate, who was bought by Punjab Kings just a few minutes earlier.
In what turned out to be a bidding war, LSG seemed to have beaten Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad to bag Pant. However, there was a twist in the tale as Delhi Capitals exercised their RTM at INR 20.75 crore. At that moment, LSG raised it to INR 27 crore and DC decided to not match that amount. So, he was eventually sold to LSG. Incidentally, LSG also have Nicholas Pooran, another wicket-keeper bat.
Before Pant was sold to LSG, Shreyas Iyer was snapped up by PBKS in the M1 marquee set. Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to a title triumph in the 2024 IPL, was the first Indian cricketer to break the 20-crore mark in the IPL auction. DC and KKR also looked to bag his services. However, they couldn’t match PBKS’ final bid. PBKS also used their RTM to buy back Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm pace bowler, for INR 18 crore. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans bought Jos Buttler (INR 15.75 crores) alongside Kagiso Rabada (INR 10.75).