The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction concluded on November 25 (Monday) with all 10 IPL franchises spending a whopping total of INR 639.15 crore to acquire 182 players during the two-day bidding event. It includes the costliest buys such as Rishabh Pant (sold to LSG for INR 27 crore), Shreyas Iyer (sold to PBKS for INR 26.75 crore), and Venkatesh Iyer (sold to KKR for INR 23.75).
The youngest uncapped player Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the age of 13, grabbed the spotlight after fetching an IPL contract of INR 1.10 crore with Rajasthan Royals(RR).
On the other side, a few players such as Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur went unsold in the two-day auction as none of the franchises were ready to acquire them even for their base price.
The former Australian captain and present head coach of Punjab Kings Ricky Ponting after the auction opened upon Shaw and Thakur’s failure to find a bid.
Ricky Ponting About Prithvi Shaw being unsold in the IPL 2025 Auction
The former Delhi Capitals (DC) coach felt bad about Prithvi Shaw after closely working with them for a few years.
Ponting said that he still considers Prithvi Shaw a talented batsman having worked with him in the previous seasons. Although several teams are actively waiting to acquire him, the 25-year-old right-handed batsman hasn’t been in his best form. Furthermore, the ex-Aussie batsman added that Prithvi went unsold and wasn’t picked in the accelerator round as well. He points out Shaw’s lack of seriousness towards the sport that has caused back-to-back failures and problems in his career.
Prithvi Shaw entered the mega auction with a base price of INR 75 lakhs but wasn’t able to attract bids from any of the franchises due to his poor form and lack of fitness.
Despite making a stunning debut in international cricket with his test century against West Indies in 2018, he struggled to secure his spot in the national team. It has been longer than three years since he participated in his last international match against Sri Lanka at R. Premadasa Stadium in July 2021. Also, it is reported that the DC franchise has taken strict action against the Mumbai cricketer for his indiscipline activities by excluding him from playing XI in 6 matches of IPL 2024. Recently, he was omitted from Mumbai’s squad for Ranji Trophy Elite 2024-25.
Ricky Ponting Opens About Shardul Thakur Being Unsold in IPL 2025 Auction
During his stint as Delhi Capitals head coach from 2018 to 2024, Ricky Ponting worked with Shardul Thakur for a couple of IPL seasons in 2023 and 2024.
The new PBKS coach voiced his opinion saying that he knew Shardul two years back as DC’s head coach. He points out that the franchise acquired the Indian all-rounder for INR 10.75 crore during the 2022 mega auction and after three years he went unsold.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired Thakur for the same price in 2023, while Chennai Super Kings (CSK) included him for INR 4 crore in the 2024 auction. However, none of the franchises came forward during the 2025 mega auction to sign the 33-year-old Indian cricketer for his base price of INR 2 crore. This is because Shardul managed to score just 21 runs and take 3 wickets out of 9 matches played in IPL 2024.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi: A 13-Year-Old Kid Selected by RR
The word “Prodigy” reminds us of Vaibhav Suryavanshi in recent times, who entered the mega auction with his base price of INR 30 lakhs and hit a jackpot of INR 1.10 crore to become a young millionaire.
Earlier, he attended during the trials for Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals held in Delhi and Nagpur and performed more than the expectations. Perhaps, this could be one of the main reasons why these two franchises aggressively bid for the young lad.
Especially, during the trials at the Rajasthan Royals nets in Nagpur, Vaibhav Suryavanshi impressed the former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour with his six-hitting abilities and struck the ball with confidence. As a result, RR’s CEO Jake Lush McCrum believes that the teenager – Vaibhav Suryavanshi can compete against the talented internationals by living up to the IPL standards, and in the forthcoming months, the franchise will focus on improving his skills.
Why Few Players Went Unsold in IPL 2025 Mega Auction? Possible Reasons to Know
Along with Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur, several high-profile players such as Kane Williamson, Sarfaraz Khan, David Warner, Mayank Agarwal, and Jonny Bairstow went unsold due to these possible reasons:
- Combination of Form and Power-Hitting Abilities: In the modern era of T20 cricket, the IPL franchises have mainly focused on batters with consistent form, as well as the ability to smash huge sixes.
Mainly, the IPL 2024 has set the new benchmark of scoring 120 to 150 runs in the first 6 overs of the powerplay. Consequently, teams are searching for players who can fulfill this expectation by having a fearless approach to scoring runs through fours and sixes rather than following the old-fashioned method of accumulating runs steadily.
- Skilled All-rounder: Franchises aim for a talented all-rounder who can provide a perfect balance to the batting and bowling line-up. In other words, a player should have the dual ability as a hard-hitting batsman to smash more fours and sixes as well as a fierce bowler to grab crucial wickets.
- Bowlers with attacking and defensive approaches: Most importantly, bowlers having the skills to balance the aggressive and defensive approaches in a dynamic-paced T20 league with consistent lengths in their deliveries, often succeeded in grabbing hefty paychecks from the franchises during the auction.