Sun Nov 24 14:49:10 UTC 2024: ## IPL 2025 Auction Day One: Rishabh Pant Shatters Records in Jeddah

**Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:** The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction kicked off in Jeddah with a bang, setting new records on Day One. Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history, fetching a staggering ₹27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants. This record eclipsed Shreyas Iyer’s briefly held title, after he was bought by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore.

The auction, featuring 574 players from an initial pool of 1,574, saw intense bidding wars throughout the day. Other notable buys included Venkatesh Iyer (₹23.75 crore, Kolkata Knight Riders), and Yuzvendra Chahal (₹18 crore, Punjab Kings). Several high-profile Indian players, including KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj, also found new teams.

Several players remained unsold on day one including Devdutt Padikkal, while others, like David Warner, surprisingly went unsold despite their past successes in the league.

The auction, taking place over two days, will see the remaining players, including big names such as Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, and Prithvi Shaw, go under the hammer on Day Two. The total purse for all franchises amounts to approximately ₹641.5 crore, with 70 slots reserved for overseas players. The 10 franchises have already spent ₹558.5 crore retaining 46 players before the auction began. The event is being broadcast on Star Sports and live-streamed on Jio Cinema.

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