The IPL 2025 mega auction is live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, taking place over two days at the Abady Al-Johar Arena. This auction offers IPL teams a chance to revamp their squads for the next three seasons.
Held once every three years, the mega auction allows franchises to refresh their squads and make key signings. A total of 204 slots are available, including 70 for foreign players, with 577 cricketers up for grabs – 367 Indians and 210 overseas players.
Base prices range from ₹30 lakh to ₹2 crore, and the competition is fierce. Among the biggest moves so far, Lucknow Super Giants secured Rishabh Pant for a record-breaking ₹27 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history. Punjab Kings followed with a ₹26.75 crore bid for Shreyas Iyer.
Key Auction Highlights:
- Most expensive player: Rishabh Pant – ₹27 crore to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
- Most expensive overseas player: Jos Buttler – ₹15.75 crore to Gujarat Titans (GT).
- The most expensive uncapped player is still to be determined.
Auction Budget & Squad Details
Each IPL franchise has a budget of ₹120 crore to build their squad, with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players. Teams can have up to 8 overseas players.
Team-wise Breakdown:
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- Purse remaining: ₹26.80 crore
- Key acquisitions: Devon Conway – ₹6.25 crore, Ravichandran Ashwin – ₹9.75 crore.
- Squad: Includes Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni.
Delhi Capitals (DC)
- Purse remaining: ₹21.25 crore
- Key acquisitions: Mitchell Starc – ₹11.75 crore, KL Rahul – ₹14 crore.
- Squad: Includes Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Tristan Stubbs.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
- Purse remaining: ₹20.75 crore
- Key acquisitions: Kagiso Rabada – ₹10.75 crore, Jos Buttler – ₹15.75 crore.
- Squad: Includes Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
- Purse remaining: ₹15.15 crore
- Key acquisitions: Venkatesh Iyer – ₹23.75 crore, Anrich Nortje – ₹6.50 crore.
- Squad: Includes Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)
- Purse remaining: ₹19.35 crore
- Key acquisitions: Rishabh Pant – ₹27 crore, David Miller – ₹7.50 crore.
- Squad: Includes Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, and Mayank Yadav.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
- Purse remaining: ₹33.50 crore
- Key acquisitions: Trent Boult – ₹12.50 crore.
- Squad: Includes Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
- Purse remaining: ₹32.55 crore
- Key acquisitions: Shreyas Iyer – ₹26.75 crore, Marcus Stoinis – ₹11 crore.
- Squad: Includes Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, and Arshdeep Singh.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
- Purse remaining: ₹24.10 crore
- Key acquisitions: Jofra Archer – ₹12.50 crore, Mahesh Theekshana – ₹4.40 crore.
- Squad: Includes Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shimron Hetmyer.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
- Purse remaining: ₹39.25 crore
- Key acquisitions: Liam Livingstone – ₹8.75 crore, Phil Salt – ₹11.50 crore.
- Squad: Includes Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
- Purse remaining: ₹15.75 crore
- Key acquisitions: Mohammad Shami – ₹10 crore, Harshal Patel – ₹8 crore.
- Squad: Includes Heinrich Klaasen, Pat Cummins, and Travis Head.
How the IPL 2025 Auction Works
Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, teams were allowed to retain up to six players. They can either retain capped or uncapped players. If teams opt not to use their full retention quota, they can use Right to Match (RTM) cards to match the highest bid on players from their previous squad.
For example, if a team retains four players, they can use two RTM cards in the auction. Teams that retained fewer players have a larger budget for fresh buys.
Punjab Kings, with a budget of ₹110.5 crore, had the biggest purse, while teams like Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders used their full retention quota and had a smaller budget left.
