The IPL 2025 mega auction unfolded in Jeddah over two days on November 24 and 25, with teams picking from a shortlist of 577 players. Lucknow Super Giants made history, securing Rishabh Pant for a record-breaking bid of Rs 27 crore.

Playing 50 matches across five years for SRH and Punjab Kings, the English cricketer scored 1589 runs at a strike rate of 144.45. After his move to Punjab Kings, he didn't have consistent performances, despite a century in 2024. While many of his England teammates secured lucrative contracts, Bairstow remained on the sidelines.

Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had a successful outing at the mega auction, which concluded on Monday, November 25, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The all-rounder had skipped the IPL 2024 season to manage his workload. He entered the IPL 2025 mega auction but went unsold. Shakib’s name wasn’t even brought up in the auction.

Venkatesh Iyer, the most expensive all-round player in IPL history, was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders, for a record-breaking Rs 23.75 crore on Day 1 of the auction, garnering headlines.

Despite buying three of the top five costliest picks in IPL 2025 and spending ₹110.50 crore in the IPL auction, this team lost 19 players.

Rishabh Pant joined Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore in the IPL 2025 mega-auction. Chennai Super Kings were expected to bid heavily for the wicketkeeper-batsman but they didn't make even one bid for him.

Despite a total of Rs 639.15 cr being spent, only 182 out of 577 shortlisted players were sold in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Image: BCCI/IPL

The IPL 2025 Auctions saw that some of the former captains not make their way back to the previous franchises. KKR did bid for Shreyas Iyer but backed out and allowed him to join PBKS in the end.

Rajasthan spent Rs 5.25 crore on Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. Maheesh Theekshana was roped in as another spin-bowling option. RR forked out Rs 4.20 crore to take Nitish Rana on board. Fazalhaq Farooqi was acquired at his base price of Rs 2 crore.