IPL 2025 auction Day 1: Teams spend ₹467.95 crore on 72 players; List of most expensive, unsold cricketers

In a high-stakes opening day of the IPL mega auction, the 10 franchises spent a staggering ₹467.95 crore out of the available ₹641.5 crore to build their cores for the next three seasons. Headlining the day, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant shattered records as he became the costliest buy in IPL history, fetching ₹27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Meanwhile, his former Delhi Capitals (DC) teammate Shreyas Iyer attracted a ₹26.75 crore bid from Punjab Kings (PBKS), making him the second-highest earner.

Pant became the costliest buy in IPL’s history and is poised to retain the tag for the season since the only team left with more money for Day 2 is Royal Challengers Bengaluru (₹30.65 crore), which needs to buy at least nine more players to build the squad of minimum 18 players.

A total of 84 players went under the hammer on Sunday, with teams going all-out for marquee Indian stars. Venkatesh Iyer emerged as the surprise of the day, as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) shelled out ₹23.75 crore to bring back the all-rounder after an intense bidding war with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Key buys and surprises

• Yuzvendra Chahal, overlooked by the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, fetched ₹18 crore from PBKS.

• Former LSG skipper KL Rahul was a bargain for DC at ₹14 crore.

• Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who once commanded ₹24.75 crore, was sold to DC for a comparatively modest ₹11.75 crore.

• Jos Buttler joined Gujarat Titans for ₹15.75 crore, while Mohammed Shami, returning from injury, went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹10 crore.

Top 10 most expensive players at the IPL 2025 auction

Rishabh Pant - ₹27 crore (LSG)

Shreyas Iyer - ₹26.75 crore (PBKS)

Venkatesh Iyer - ₹23.75 crore (KKR)

Yuzvendra Chahal - ₹18 crore (PBKS)

Arshdeep Singh - ₹18 crore (PBKS)

Jos Buttler - ₹15.75 crore (GT)

KL Rahul - ₹14 crore (DC)

Mohammed Siraj - ₹12.25 crore (GT)

Jofra Archer - ₹12.50 crore (RR)

Josh Hazlewood - ₹12.50 crore (RCB)

List of unsold players on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 auction

David Warner (Base price: ₹2 crore)

Devdutt Padikkal (Base price: ₹2 crore)

Jonny Bairstow (Base price: ₹2 crore)

Waqar Salamkheil (Base price: ₹75 lakh)

Yash Dhull (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Anmolpreet Singh (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Upendra Yadav (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Luvith Sisodia (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Kartik Tyagi (Base price: ₹40 lakh)

Utkarsh Singh (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Piyush Chawla (Base price: ₹50 lakh)

Shreyas Gopal (Base price: ₹30 lakh)

Day 2

RCB heads into Day 2 with ₹30.65 crore, the largest remaining purse but with nine players yet to be bought to meet the squad minimum of 18. With teams having splurged heavily on Day 1, the second day promises a focus on smart buys to complete rosters.