International Sports
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
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