As expected, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction witnessed several intriguing moments. All ten franchises spent a whopping sum of INR 467.95 crore (out of INR 641.5 crore) on Sunday (November 24) in Jeddah. Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant created a sensation on Day 1 by becoming the most expensive player ever in IPL history after Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) acquired him for a lucrative offer of INR 27 crore.

Within a few minutes, the former Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper surpassed the record of Shreyas Iyer as the costliest buy, who was bagged by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) with a jaw-dropping bid of INR 26.75 crores.

Pant and Iyer entered the mega auction with a base price of INR 2 crore. They not only turned out to be the most expensive Indian cricketers but also overtook the previous record of Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc, who was acquired by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 24.75 crores in the previous year’s auction. 

Despite DC’s best efforts to retain Pant using the Right to Match (RTM) card during the event, the franchise was left clueless about LSG’s unexpected move to match the elevated bid. 

On the opening day of the two-day mega auction, a total of 84 players went under the hammer from the shortlisted set of 577 candidates. Out of which, 72 of them were acquired by different franchises. This includes four players such as Rachin Ravindra, Arshdeep Singh, Naman Dhir, and Jake Fraser-Mcgurk retained through the RTM cards.

As the mega auction is set to be continued on Day 2 (November 25), let’s find out the chances of other top players to surpass Rishabh Pant’s expensive bid.

A Brief Highlights of Rishabh Pant’s Expensive Bid in IPL 2025 Mega Auction: From INR 2 crore to INR 27 crore

Lucknow Super Giants opened the bidding war to secure Rishabh Pant with his base price of INR 2 crore and here are the main highlights of how franchises aggressively bid by increasing his worth to INR 27 crores:

• Lucknow Super Giants: INR 2 crore
• Royal Challengers Bengaluru: INR 5 crore
• Lucknow Super Giants: INR 10.75 crore
• Sunrisers Hyderabad: INR 11.50 crore
• Lucknow Super Giants: INR 19.75 crore and INR 20.75 (resulting in Sunrisers being out of the race)
• Delhi Capitals using their Right to Match (Card) to retain Pant for INR 20.75 crore
• Lucknow Super Giants: INR 27 crore

Delhi Capitals Not Being Able to Retain Rishabh Pant Using RTM Card

Delhi Capitals entered the mega auction with the hopes of retaining Rishabh Pant through an RTM card. The franchise had the option to use 2 RTMs either capped or uncapped or a combination of both after retaining 4 players (3 capped and 1 uncapped) ahead of the auction.

When LSG bid for INR 20.75 crore, DC was allowed to execute their RTM card to retain Pant for the same price. However, the owner of LSG Sanjiv Goenka straight away increased the bid to INR 27 crores. As a result, Rishabh Pant became the expensive buy for LSG as well as the costliest wicketkeeper in IPL history so far.

Why LSG bagged Rishabh Pant for a hefty price of INR 27 crore? 

Rishabh Pant’s stunning performance in the previous season was one of the main reasons why LSG acquired a staggering value of INR 27 crore.

After recovering from a life-threatening car accident, the left-handed batter made a great comeback in IPL 2024 and scored 446 runs in 13 innings, which included 3 half-centuries, averaging at 40.55 and a strike rate of 155.40. Despite suffering a ligament tear in a terrible accident, his physical stamina and mental fitness helped him to additionally perform the role of wicketkeeping for 20 overs, which is an appreciable factor.

Moreover, franchises were ready to acquire Pant for the massive deal as he seemed to be the top choice to fit into the multiple roles as a calm captain, aggressive middle-order batter, and brilliant keeper behind the stumps.

Rishabh Pant Becomes the Costliest Wicketkeeper Ever in IPL History

Finally, the former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa’s prediction turned out to be true as he earlier said that Rishabh Pant could become the most expensive wicketkeeper in IPL history with an expected price range of INR 25 crore to 28 crore.

Starting from Rishabh Pant to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, here is the list of expensive wicketkeepers on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 mega auction all you need to know:

Chances of High-Profile Players to Hit A Jackpot and Surpass Rishabh Pant’s Record: Final Opinion

It is highly impossible to surpass Rishabh Pant’s expensive bid of INR 27 crore. On Day 1, the high profile cricketers such as David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, and Devdutt Padikkal having a base price of INR 2 crore went unsold. Although they might manage to attract a rewarding deal on the day of the auction, there are fewer chances for them to become the most expensive player in the league’s history.

Unlike the opening day, you cannot expect an intense bidding war as all franchises are left with a remaining purse of INR 173.54 crore to spend on Day 2), and the details are tabulated below:

In conclusion, the above data clarifies that none of the franchises are in a position to spend more than INR 27 crore on Day 2 to acquire the costliest player when compared to Rishabh Pant’s price tag.