IPL auction: Rishabh Pant breaks Shreyas Iyer's record, sold for Rs 27 crore to LSG

IPL 2025 mega auction: Rishabh Pant became the costliest player in the history of the auction. Lucknow Super Giant raised the bid from Rs 20.75 crore to Rs 27 crore after Delhi Capitals entered the race late with the Right to Match card.

In Short

• Rishabh Pant sold to Lucknow Super Giant for Rs 27 crore
• Pant broke Shreyas Iyer's record, which was set earlier in the day
• Delhi Capitals failed in their bid to retain the wicketkeeper-batter

Rishabh Pant broke Shreyas Iyer's record to become the costliest player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. Rishabh Pant was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore in the mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, December 24.

Shreyas Iyer had broken Mitchell Starc's record (Rs 24.75 crore) when Punjab Kings outbid other teams after a fierce bidding war in the sale of the first set of marquee players on Sunday. The record lasted only a few minutes as Rishabh Pant witnessed a historic bidding war.

IPL 2025 Auction: Live Updates

Delhi Capitals surprisingly used the Right To Match card for Rishabh Pant when the bid was with Lucknow at Rs 20.75 crore. After all the speculation of a bad break-up between Pant and Delhi, it was expected that Delhi would not enter the race. However, they went for it and used the RTM card.

Lucknow Super Giants and its owner Sanjeev Goenka were in no mood to let Rishabh Pant go as they raised the bid to Rs 27 crore.

Rishabh Pant is likely to replace KL Rahul as the captain of LSG in IPL 2025.

HOW THE BIDDING WAR FOR RISHABH PANT PLAYED OUT

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants were initially involved in an intense bidding war. It didn't look like the two would stop, but RCB pulled out from the race at Rs 11 crore.
• SunRisers Hyderabad, who had a purse of only Rs 45 crore at that time, entered the race.
• However, SRH pulled out at Rs 20.50 crore after which LSG remained in the fray and put a bid of Rs 20.75 crore.
• Delhi Capitals owners lifted the paddle, much to the suprirse for many, for the RTM.
• However, LSG raised to to a whopping Rs 27 crore.
• According to the new IPL auction rules, a bid can be made after the RTM card is raised. The bid can then be matched by the team for whom the player played in the previous season.

DELHI'S SUPRISE RTM FOR PANT

Rishabh Pant was expected to be retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the deadline day -- October 31. However, Pant's post on X, formerly Twitter, sparked speculation about his exit from the franchise that gave him his first opportunity after the U19 World Cup in 2016.

Pant asked his fans and followers if he would find takers in the auction in a cryptic post before the retention deadline of October 31.

"If go to the auction. will I be sold or not and for how much ?? (sic)," he asked.

Pant also made it clear that his exit from Delhi Capitals was not because of money, while responding to a comment from Sunil Gavaskar.

"My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say," Rishabh Pant said in his reply to the post on X.

Rishabh Pant joining Lucknow added a different dimension to the Super Giant, who were expected to make Nicholas Pooran their captain after having retained him for a whopping sum of Rs 21 crore.