IPL25
Follow UsPunjab Kings
Punjab started the auction with one motto: we have the biggest purse in the auction (110 crore), we want this thing and even if it is overpriced, we will buy it.
They kicked off the marquee set by using the right-to-match (RTM) card on Arshdeep Singh at 18 crore. While Arshdeep is the kind of bowler every team needs, only Punjab could have afforded to splurge nearly 45 crore on Shreyas Iyer and Yuzvendra Chahal. In Iyer at 26.75 crore, PBKS secured one of the three Indian captaincy options available in the auction.
The extra money spent on Iyer and Chahal was compensated by buying Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Nehal Wadhera for under 20 crore combined.
After paying 18 crore each to Chahal and Arshdeep, PBKS added Harpreet Brar, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Yash Thakur for under 5 crore.
For a team building from scratch, Punjab had a big day out on the first day but they do maintain their ‘boom or bust’ nature. Left with over 20 crore, they still have some slots to fill, mainly to establish a strong link between batters and bowlers in the lower order. Six overseas slots may help them out there along with a few backups.
Chennai Super Kings
The planning showcased that they were headed to re-create the similar tactics that had been influential in their previous title victories — spinners, and then batters who could play spin well. Their first-ever Afghanistan signing, Noor Ahmad (INR 10 cr), and hometown hero Ravichandran Ashwin (INR 9.75 cr) were their biggest signings of the day.
Now imagine a spin-trio of Noor (wrist-spinner), Ashwin (restrictive off-spinner) and Ravindra Jadeja (a deadly left-arm spinner on turning tracks). All the best to the sides touring Chepauk in IPL 2025.
They re-signed their Kiwi pair – Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra — spending less than 11 crore on the pair.
Hence, CSK would be reasonably happy with their work on the first day. On the second day, however, they would want to invest in players for away games as well. A finisher who can hit pace and fast-bowling backups should be on top of their priority list on the second day. They have 15.6 crore left.
Mumbai Indians
In an ideal world, MI would have wanted to purchase both Trent Boult and Jofra Archer. However, expectations won’t turn into reality when some other franchise has a similar demand and both of you go into the market with the minimum purses.
Boult, who came in the sixth set, was the first player MI intently bid for. After some dreadful pace-bowling fortunes in the previous auction cycle, Mumbai secured the Kiwi seamer, also one of their most prolific powerplay bowlers, for 12.5 crore, having compromised for Archer earlier.
MI then used their remaining RTM card on Naman Dhir as their second signing of the auction for 5.25 crore. Interestingly, they denied using the RTM for Nehal Wadhera earlier who was sold to Punjab at only 4.2 crore.
Mumbai also continued to ignore the spin department, signing only Karn Sharma late in the day while letting go of quite a few other good options. Overall, Mumbai continued the trend of not doing much shopping on the first day of the mega auction.
Presuming Robin Minz is a backup wicketkeeper, MI have three slots left in their XI, and they can reserve them all for overseas players given Boult is the only foreign player in their squad of nine so far. They could well be saving for Sam Curran.
Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals had the lowest purse (41 crore), five batters and a bowling attack to build heading into the auction. Hence, all of their five purchases were bowlers – three spinners and two pacers.
They went from a bowling attack of Boult, Ashwin, and Chahal to Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Maheesh Theekshana, maintaining the outlook but with different personnel. Akash Madhwal and Kumar Kartikeya were bought cheaply as backups.
The Jaipur-based franchise have 11 players in their squad but are yet to find an opening partner for Yashasvi Jaiswal, an all-rounder at number seven and a solid backup for Archer. So RR have work to do on the second day. So far, their side is composed of Indian batters and overseas bowlers.
Lucknow Super Giants
LSG were the opposite off RR — they pumped their overseas investments in batting and constructed an all-India bowling line-up. They spent 9.75 crore to add Avesh Khan to the roster alongside Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan.
On the batting front also, LSG have hit a reboot. From a side carefully composed of all-round talent, they have assembled a gang of powerful hitters. Imagine Rishabh Pant and David Miller joining a middle-order of Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni. It was not just happenstance.
When everyone expected Punjab to go for Pant, LSG showed more intent when the left-hander’s name came up. The team owner Sanjeev Goenka already had the paddle up for Pant before the auctioneer could take his name. When it came to raising the bidding against Delhi Capitals’ (DC) RTM card, they raised it to 27 crore, ensuring a high number DC were not willing to match.
That being said, LSG have a few injury-prone players in Mayank, Mohsin and now Mitchell Marsh added as well. Aiden Markram is the only other all-round option available with them.
In terms of all-rounders, Markram and Marsh are the only options available with LSG. Abdul Samad is also there but he hasn’t bowled much in the IPL.
Thus, expect LSG to add a few more batters to their squad and then sign some overseas all-rounders. But in an aftereffect of signing Pant at a record-breaking amount, LSG have only 14.85 crore left.
Delhi Capitals
For a while, it felt like Delhi’s auction was sinking before it even started. The 12-player marquee set was about to get over and they had missed out on every marquee batter and didn’t have a captain yet. When KL Rahul’s name came up as the last marquee player, DC were under pressure to go all in for him.
Luckily, they got him for just 14 crore. At that moment, you didn’t know it was DC’s genius or just pure luck to fetch a premier batter and potential captain for the lowest amount among all possible options.
Well, that got DC’s auction to a sweet start. They also scored a steal on Mitchell Starc at 11.75 crore to follow it. Delhi then added a number of batters to their list, re-signing Harry Brook and Jake Fraser-McGurk, alongside Indian options in Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair. DC have options keeping in mind the option of an extra batter as an impact sub.
Among other Indian options, Delhi went aggressively for T Natarajan, fetching him in a bidding war with RCB. They now have four left-armers in their first-choice bowling attack.
Fraser-Mcgurk was among a few overpriced buys for Delhi, for whom the franchise used the RTM card. However, they denied using it on Rasikh Dar for 6 crore which they may regret later. Instead, they signed for 2.2 crore Mohit Sharma, who had a subpar 2024 season at the age of 36. Thus, it does seem like Delhi went a little overboard on the number of batters they signed.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB had some excellent picks for their first-choice roles. They got Phil Salt, the perfect opening partner for Virat Kohli who can also double up as a wicketkeeper, Liam Livingstone to fill in for the Glenn Maxwell role at a steal price of 8.75 crore, Rasikh Dar at 6 crore and Josh Hazlewood back at 12.50 crore.
However, their first day will be remembered for the missed opportunities. Given their purse of 83 crore at the start, they had the chance to go a bit harder for a few players like Abhinav Manohar or Marcus Stoinis, both of whom were purchased relatively cheaply. Given they have only right-handers in their batting order, they could have RTMed Mahipal Lomror, who went for just 1.7 crore to Gujarat.
RCB still have 30.65 crore left to spend with only nine players in the bag. They must be waiting for a few big guns on the second day.
Surprisingly, they went till 23.5 crore for Venkatesh Iyer but lost to Kolkata. They might be eyeing Nitish Rana now. Also, no homecoming for KL Rahul means Virat Kohli is likely to captain them again.
Gujarat Titans
The 2022 champions were focused on building their bowling attack on day one. They signed Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna for 32.5 crore combined. However, it is a very high-varying seam attack, though it's one that can exploit the early lateral movement in home games.
GT added Jos Buttler too, thus solving the wicketkeeping opener’s spot with the most premier option available. Although, they shelled out the highest amount paid to an overseas player in the auction as yet for that deal.
Rest, there were a few “GT” picks, with them picking left-arm spinners who can bat, and some wicketkeeping backups: Nishant Sindhu, Mahipal Lomror, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra and Anuj Rawat.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH came with three tasks in the auction: build their bowling, bolster their batting further with a couple of additions and surge the price of other players.
Among the batters, they picked Abhinav Manohar as arguably their best buy. At only 3.2 crore, he is a handy addition to SRH's power-packed batting line-up as a finisher. SRH also bought Ishan Kishan who will have to bat out of position at number three but with him, they have secured their batting core.
SRH signed two Indian bowlers with varying roles — a new ball seamer Mohammed Shami and a death-overs specialist Harshal Patel. However, form and fitness will be the caveats attached to them. Simarjeet Singh was another addition who has done well in the recent past.
They picked two leg-spinners — Adam Zampa (2.4 cr) and Rahul Chahar (3.2 cr). Zampa can slot right in their current XI.
However, they have a vacant spot at number seven to fill on the second day.
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR followed the trend of buying their old players back, purchasing Venkatesh Iyer, Vaibhav Arora, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.
They shelled 23.75 crore for Venkatesh Iyer which was a shocker given they could have retained him for much lesser. They couldn’t buy Salt but secured Quinton de Kock for only 3.6 crore with Gurbaz as backup. Hence, the wicketkeeping opening slot is sorted for Kolkata.
As it seems, they have trusted Anrich Nortje to be their overseas frontline pacer, even though they had to spend 6.5 crore on him.
KKR still have the number four spot vacant and Nitish Rana, a KKR player since 2018, fits right into the bill. However, they only have 10.05 crore left with 13 players in the squad. Kolkata will be running a little tight on purse on the second day of the auction. Iyer, thus, seems to be their next captain.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here
