they had to "overpay slightly" to secure him.
Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history when he sold for a record £2.54 million, as teams spent big on world-class players for the 2025 tournament.
A total of 577 players are up for grabs at the two-day auction, with Pant, Jimmy Anderson and Rachin Ravindra among the top names.
The 2023 record Kolkata Knight Riders paid for Australian Mitchell Starc was first broken by Punjab Kings, who snapped up Shreyas Iyer for £2.51 million.
Iyer captained Kolkata to their third IPL triumph in 2024.
But the record was quickly broken.
Lucknow Super Giants paid a “gigantic” £2.54 million for Rishabh Pant.
The team’s owner Sanjiv Goenka said money was set aside for Pant but admitted they had to “overpay slightly” to secure him.
The auction kicked off with high energy as Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh sparked an intense bidding war, ultimately landing with Punjab for a whopping £1.7 million.
Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, released by Kolkata, found a new home with the Delhi Capitals for £1.11 million.
England’s white-ball captain Jos Buttler was secured by the Gujarat Titans for £1.49 million, while seasoned Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for £940,000.
Shami has recovered from a foot injury and is set to rejoin India’s Test squad in the ongoing series against Australia.
Ahead of the auction, Rajasthan Royals coach Rahul Dravid remarked that while teams had done their homework, the unpredictability of auction day left no room for assumptions.
Dravid said: “You can prepare … you have a lot of discussions around the players and the tactics that you might employ.
“But being realistic, you have to be able to think on your feet a little bit.”
Punjab Kings coach Ricky Ponting said there was “huge excitement” but keeping cool during the bidding was critical.
He said:
“I think being really really calm, and really clear, at the auction table is a really important thing.”
Since its inception, the IPL has generated billions in revenue, transforming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.
In June 2022, it sold the broadcast rights for five IPL seasons to global media giants for £4.95 billion.
The BCCI has sought to broaden the tournament’s profile by staging the auction abroad.
In 2023, it was held in Dubai, a regular host for international cricket tournaments. Like Saudi Arabia, it has a large base of prospective fans among its migrant worker population.
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