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IPL Auction wraps up, after two days of bidding wars in Jeddah

Seven Afghan players were purchased for the 2025 season, including Rashid Khan who was retained by Gujarat Titans for about $2.13 million

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The two-day IPL Auction wrapped up in Jeddah on Monday with 13-year-old Indian cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi becoming the youngest to be sold in an IPL auction.

The young star, from the eastern Indian state of Bihar, went to the Rajasthan Royals for $130,500 after coming into the auction at a base price of $35,591.

Meanwhile, seven Afghan players were snapped up for the 2025 season.

Included was Rashid Khan who was retained by Gujarat Titans for about $2.13 million. 

Karim Janat will make his debut at the IPL and was picked up by Gujarat Titans for just over $88,000; Noor Ahmad Lakanwal was signed by Chennai Super Kings for $1.18 million; Azmatullah Omarzai was sold to Punjab Kings for $284,000; Rahmanullah Gurbaz was resigned by Kolkata Knight Riders for over $236,000; Fazalhaq Farooqi went to Rajasthan Royals for $236,000 USD); and 18 year old young spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar was signed by Mumbai Indians for $568,000.

In total, 16 Afghan players had registered for the 2025 IPL auction.

Overall, big purchases on Day 2 saw veteran fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar go to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $1.27-million, and Deepak Chahar went to the Mumbai Indians for $1.09-million.

Rishabh Pant broke the auction record on day one when Lucknow Super Giants got the star wicketkeeper for a whopping $3.20 million, while the Punjab Kings snapped up Shreyas Iyer for $3.17 million also on Sunday.

The final day began with a string of unsold players and some frugal buys, before South Africa’s left-arm quick Marco Jansen went to Punjab for $830,000.

The focus then turned to Indian quicks.

Mukesh Kumar went to the Delhi Capitals for $942,000, while pace bowler Akash Deep went to Lucknow for the same price.

Five-time champions Mumbai went big for Chahar, before securing 18-year-old Afghan spinner Allah Ghazanfar for $569,000.

“Very happy at this position because we have got our playing XII,” Mumbai owner Akash Ambani said.

New Zealand’s veteran Kane Williamson and all-rounder Glenn Phillips both went unsold, although they may be brought back later.

In total, 182 players were sold across the two days, which included 62 overseas players. Teams spent almost $75.72 million to buy the 182 players.

The top 10 signings were as follows:

Rishabh Pant (IND) – $3.20 million – Lucknow Super Giants

Shreyas Iyer (IND) – $3.17 million – Punjab Kings

Venkatesh Iyer (IND) – $2.81 million- Kolkata Knight Riders

Arshdeep Singh (IND) – $2.13 million – Punjab Kings

Yuzvendra Chahal (IND) – $2.13 million – Punjab Kings

Jos Buttler (ENG) – $1.87 million – Gujarat Titans

KL Rahul (IND) – $1.65 million – Delhi Capitals

Jofra Archer (ENG) – $1.48 million –  Rajasthan Royals

Trent Boult (NZL) – $1.48 million – Mumbai Indians

Josh Hazlewood (AUS) – $1.48 million – Royal Challengers Bengaluru

 

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IPL 2025: Sunday’s KKR vs LSG match pushed out to Tuesday

Sunday will now be a single-header match day, opposed to the usual double-header schedule.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BBCI) announced Wednesday that Match 19 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has been rescheduled and will be played on Tuesday, April 8 at 2:30 pm Kabul time. 

The match was originally scheduled to take place this Sunday, April 6. 

Sunday will now be a single-header match day, opposed to the usual double-header schedule. Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Gujarat Titans at 6 pm Kabul time as originally scheduled. 

However, two matches will be played on Tuesday, April 8. First up will be KKR vs LSG, followed by the Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings. 

Wednesday’s match

Wednesday, April 2, saw Punjab Kings cruise to an 8-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants after a dominant all-round performance.

A disciplined bowling effort restricted LSG to 171/7 at home before PBKS chased it down in style. 

Player-of-the-Match Prabhsimran Singh (69 off 34), skipper Shreyas Iyer (52* off 30), and Nehal Wadhera (43* off 25) powered the visitors to a flawless finish, keeping them unbeaten in the league. 

This convincing win propelled PBKS to second place in the points table, boosting their confidence for the games ahead.

Thursday’s match

Today, Thursday April 3, will see Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The match will start at 6 pm Kabul time. Once again, Ariana Television will  broadcast this thrilling event live across Afghanistan. 

 

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Chennai grapple with IPL home truth after Bengaluru defeat

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An exasperated Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said their failure to read the pitch at Chepauk has denied them any home advantage in the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Five-time champion Chennai suffered their biggest defeat at home, in terms of runs, on Friday when Royal Challengers Bengaluru thumped them by 50 runs, Reuters reported.

“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” Fleming said after Chennai’s first defeat of the new season.

“We haven’t been able to read the wickets here in the last couple of years,” he added. “So it’s not new. We are trying to come to grips each day with what we get, and we don’t know.”

Chennai’s spinners were not really effective, while Josh Hazlewood led Bengaluru’s superb pace display to set up their victory.

“It’s not the Chepauk (of old) where you can just go in and play four spinners,” former New Zealand captain Fleming said. “We’re having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it’s quite different.”

Even the dew that Fleming had expected set in during the second innings did not materialise and Chennai fell well short of their target of 197.

“No, we didn’t get it right,” Fleming said. “It’s so hard to read, but we thought it was going to skid on with the dew, but it actually got a bit tacky. So, it certainly made it (batting) harder here.”

Saturday’s Match

Ariana Television will broadcast today’s match live and exclusively in Afghanistan. Fans can tune in from 6:15pm to watch Match 9, between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat.

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Lucknow’s six-hitting machine Pooran justifies top order slot

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Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant said sacrificing the number three slot for Nicholas Pooran was well worth it after they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday for their first victory of the new Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

Lucknow wanted an aggressive left-handed batter to follow their right-right opening pair of Mitch Marsh and Aiden Markram and the choice was between Pant and Pooran, both renowned for their six-hitting prowess, Reuters reported.

Former West Indies captain Pooran smacked six sixes and as many fours in his 70 off just 26 balls as Lucknow thumped Hyderabad by five wickets.

Pooran’s 13 sixes in two matches is the highest by any batter this season and his powerplay carnage drew praise from Pant, who has dropped down to number four in the batting order.

“The thought was to give freedom to him,” the Lucknow captain said after their victory in Hyderabad.

“We know what damage he can do down the order. I like that freedom too, but you have got to give someone that charge that you have to go and express yourself.

“The way he has been batting is phenomenal for us.”

Pooran raced to an 18-ball fifty against Hyderabad and his second-wicket partnership of 116 with Marsh set up their comfortable victory.

“I don’t plan to hit sixes,” Pooran said. “I just try my best to get in good positions and if it’s there, just time the ball nicely.

“In the last nine years I have been working on my craft. Obviously, I have been getting the opportunity to bat higher up in the powerplay as well.

“It is really important to cash in when the wicket is nice and obviously when the match-up is there you try your best to execute your skills.”

Friday’s Match

Ariana Television will broadcast today’s match live and exclusively in Afghanistan. Fans can tune in from 6:15pm to watch Match 8, between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.

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