IPL 2025 Auction Updates: 13-Year-Old Vaibhav Suryavanshi Strikes Big; RR Splash INR 1.10 Crore On Teenager
The big news of the latter stages of the auction was 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi being sold to the Rajasthan Royals. Suryavanshi was the subject of a bidding war between RR and Delhi Captials and was bought by the former for INR 1.10 crore.
The accelerated process of the IPL mega-auction on Day 2 has begun, and it will feature 143 players.
Unfortunately, veterans James Anderson and Kane Williamson will not be a part of it after being ignored by all 10 franchises. This would mean IPL 2025 would be the first edition since 2015 that won’t feature Williamson. As for Anderson, who is 42-year-old, his dreams of staging one more miraculous comeback won’t be fulfilled.
The spinners did not have a great time, as Set 17 began with the entire batch going unsold but Afghanistan’s Allah Ghazanfar for ₹4.8 crore to Mumbai Indians.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the costliest buy on Day 2 of the IPL 2025 mega auction, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru picking the India pacer for ₹10.75 crore, followed by Deepak Chahar, who was picked by Mumbai Indians for ₹9.25 crore. Set 16, for the fast bowler, began with Tushar Deshpande, who will now represent Rajasthan Royals after being purchased for ₹6.5 crore. Gujarat Titans picked up Gerald Coetzee of South Africa for ₹2.4 crore. India’s swing king, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, immediately grabbed the attention as franchises went tooth and nail after him. In no time, he hit the ₹10 crore mark with MI and LSG. RCB then jumped in at the right time to acquire his services. Delhi Capitals used the RTM card for ₹8 crore to retain Mukesh Kumar. India pacer Akash Deep was another successful buy, going to LSG for ₹8 crore.
In the second set of the day – 14th overall – for the capped all-rounders, Shardul Thakur was the first name, which unfortunately remained unsold. Washington Sundar was a steal for Gujarat Titans at ₹3.2 crore. Sam Curran returned to Chennai Super Kings for ₹2.4 crore as Punjab Kings refused to up the ante for their former star. Marco Jansen, the South African, caught the interest among the franchises, with Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings starting the bid before Gujarat Titans jumped in. But finally, it was PBKS who bought Jansen for ₹7 crore. Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand, too went unsold. Krunal Pandya, Hardik’s brother, was roped in by RCB for ₹5.75 crore. Nitish Rana, the former KKR captain, was purchased for ₹4.2 crore by Rajasthan Royals.
Day 2 of the IPL 2025 mega auction started with a shocker as former Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad player Kane Williamson went unsold. Faf du Plessis, released by RCB, is off to the Delhi Capitals. Three Indian batters – Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw faced disappointments as well, finding no takers
The business on Day 1 of the IPL mega auction may have already decided a few captains for franchises going into the 2025 season. KL Rahul went to Delhi Capitals for INR 14 crore and their captain until last year Rishabh Pant went to Lucknow Super Giants for a record INR 27 crore. Punjab Kings shelled out INR 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the title last season. KKR themselves coughed up INR 23.75 crore for Venkatesh Iyer. All pretty obvious captaincy candidates.
A record-setting first day at the IPL 2025 auction saw the franchises put together the core of the teams they will be using in the upcoming season, with some blockbuster moves and plenty of manoeuvring on show between all the teams. Shreyas Iyer set a new record for the most expensive player sold in the IPL auction, before Rishabh Pant broke it minutes later as he was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for INR 27 crore — but these blockbuster deals were only the surface of an intriguing day in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Punjab Kings were unsurprisingly the highest spenders on the day, as they shelled out a huge 88 crores as they looked to recreate their team from scratch under Ricky Ponting’s tutelage. Shreyas Iyer was the headliner, likely to take over captaincy duties, but huge values were also splashed out for Arshdeep Singh’s return and the purchase of Yuzvendra Chahal. Huge purchases were also made as Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis joined the franchise.
Delhi Capitals made strong strides towards setting up their new-look XI, led by KL Rahul for just 14 cr. Harry Brook and Jake Fraser-McGurk returned to the team, while Mitchell Starc will bring a world class international seamer back to the Kotla. DC will now look for depth and strong backup options on day two.
LSG built a terrific batting core, without breaking the bank too much. Rishabh Pant is the biggest buy, but Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and David Miller provide a terrifying batting lineup to build around Nicholas Pooran. The return of Avesh Khan was a wily buy, but bowlers will be the focus on the second day with that being an area they can work on.
RCB fans were frustrated by their slow start to the auction, but the arrivals of international talent with Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone and Josh Hazlewood as well as the clever domestic purchases of Jitesh Sharma and Rasikh Salam Dar means their patient approach has still put them in a strong position heading into Monday. Still work to be done for the Bangalore team, though.
Gujarat Titans quietly built arguably the best pace bowling attack so far, finding good value for Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj, setting the stage for a formidable pace battery at the Narendra Modi Stadium. They also successfully managed to get a cornerstone player in Jos Buttler, allowing him to find another excellent young Indian opener to partner in Shubman Gill. The pieces look to be in place for GT.
KKR had the tall task of trying to replace their championship-winning captain, but opted to go with the old reliable by splurging on Venkatesh Iyer for 23.75 cr, in the most surprising purchase in terms of price on day one. They also kept hold of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who might replace Shreyas Iyer in the top order, while landing Anrich Nortje to replace Mitchell Starc and keeping hold of Vaibhav Arora. Can they run it back?
Sunrisers Hyderabad already had plenty of pieces in place ahead of the auction, and added in strong and clever fashion by picking up experienced Indian internationals in Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami. Rahul Chahar and Harshal Patel were two more smart Indian buys to surround their strong overseas core, and SRH will also look to build on depth as they try to re-achieve the heights of the fantastic 2024 season. Fans, however, should be optimistic about the position they are in with a strong retention setting a great foundation.
Chennai Super Kings were typically clever in their purchases, landing the steal of the auction so far with Khaleel Ahmed at 4.80 crore while also retaining the services of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. However, the happiest part of CSK’s auction will be the return of a hero in yellow from the past, as Ravichandran Ashwin prepares to weave his web at the Chepauk in the IPL yet again.
Rajasthan Royals’ goal in the auction was always to go for the bowling quality on offer, with the batting relatively set. Their main buy was to get Jofra Archer back to the team with which he had such success in the past, but his fitness will remain a gamble. Two Sri Lankan spinners in Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga, but the Jaipur faithful will want some more star power in the bowling department on day two.
Mumbai Indians were the lowest spenders, biting their tongue in the first few sets and not going for a marquee buy with their batting largely in place. They stepped it up in the last third of the day’s sets, welcoming Trent Boult back to the Wankhede to bowl the powerplay overs and provide a strong foundation for Jasprit Bumrah to work his magic. They also welcomed back Naman Dhir, but the big ask for Mumbai is what they will do with the excess money in the bank on day two.
Key pointers on IPL 2025 mega-auction:
– 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi bought by RR for INR 1.10 crore
– Steve Smith went unsold
– James Anderson, Kane Williamson and Josh Phillippe were not selected by the franchises for the accelarated auction
– Deepak Chahar bought by MI for INR 9.25 crore
– Bhuvneshwar Kumar shot past Jansen as he was bought by RCB for INR 10.75 crore
– Sam Curran returned to CSK for INR 2.40 crore
– The biggest buy of the first set of the day was Marco Jansen who went to PBKS for INR 7 crore
– Only 72 of the 493 players will actually be auctioned with other players filtered out in the accelerated auction
– A total of 493 players are left to go under the hammer
– Punjab Kings paid INR 26.75 crore for Shreyas Iyer, making him the record buy before LSG broke it just minutes later for Pant
– LSG broke the record for most expensive auction buy of all time by singing Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crore