Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was sold for Rs 27 Crore to the Lucknow SuperGiants. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings bought KKR's trophy-winning former captain Shreyas Iyer for a whopping Rs 26.75 Crore.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ-๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต ๐
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 24, 2024
Snippets of how that Historic bidding process panned out for Rishabh Pant ๐ฅ ๐ฝ #TATAIPLAuction | #TATAIPL | @RishabhPant17 | @LucknowIPL | #LSG pic.twitter.com/grfmkuCWLD
The IPL Mega Auction 2025 Day 1 began in Saudi Arabia with the teams bidding for 12 superstars who were included in the two pots under the Marquee List. Most teams were expected to spend big to get these highly-rated cricketers on board.
Indian seamer Arshdeep Singh was the first player to be picked during this year's mega auction. After immense bidding involving multiple teams, the Punjab Kings used the Right to Match (RTM) rule (which allows former franchises the option to buy back their previous player for the sold price) to keep their seam bowler. In fact, the young left-arm speedster was the only marquee player to be retained using the RTM rule.
Head Coach @RickyPonting chats on the teamโs explosive buys during the #TATAIPLAuction ๐ฐ๐ฐ@PunjabKingsIPL fans, what do you make of the inclusions ๐#TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/dE7N4DrgYM
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 24, 2024
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore in the last auction., went to Delhi Capitals for Rs 11.75 crore. The Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, all former IPL champions, didn't buy any of the 12 top-rated players of the Mega Auction 2025.
ALSO READ | IPL Mega Auction 2025 Day 1 schedule: What you need to know
There will be INR 641.5 crores cumulatively in the kitty of 10 teams with 204 possible slots to be filled.
Here is how the marquee players fared on the first day of the IPL Mega Auction 2025.
IPL Mega Auction first Marquee Pot:
Jos Buttler: Rs 15.75 Cr to Gujarat Titans
Shreyas Iyer: Rs 26.75 Cr to Punjab Kings
Rishabh Pant: Rs 27 Cr to Lukcnow SuperGiants
Kagiso Rabada: 10.75 Cr to Gujarat Titans
Arshdeep Singh: Rs 15. 75 Cr to Sunrisers Hyderabad; Punjab Kings uses RTM at Rs 18 Cr.
Mitchell Starc: 11.75 Cr to Delhi Capitals
IPL Mega Auction second Marquee Pot:
Yuzvendra Chahal: 18 Cr to Punjab Kings
Liam Livingstone: Rs 8.75 Cr to Royal Challengers Bengaluru
David Miller: Rs 7.50 Cr to Lucknow SuperGiants
KL Rahul: Rs 14 Cr to Delhi Capitals
Mohammed Shami: Rs 10 Cr to Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mohammed Siraj: Rs 12.25 Cr to Gujarat Titans