IPL 2025: The Indian Premier League remains to be one of the world’s most highly anticipated franchise-level cricket leagues, of which the 18th edition will be played in 2025. The 10 franchises from the IPL 2024 will be participating in the upcoming season as well, with only a few of their players being retained before the mega-auction.
Though the BCCI and the IPL committee have not given an official announcement about whether there will be a mega-auction, it is to be believed that according to the usual trait of the IPL, the mega-auction will be conducted. The last mega-auction saw some terrific buys, with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Sam Curran, Cameron Green, and Nicholas Pooran being the record bids for the team. However, the mini-auction was even more exciting last time around as Green, Mitchell, Cummins, and Starc were bought for an insane amount of money.
Let’s have a close look at the players who can be big-budget players to feature in the IPL mega-auction
Rohit Sharma
India’s T20 World Cup skipper, who has also been a great servant to the MI side, thus contributing immensely to their legacy in the cup, winning it five times for them. Rohit Sharma has been with the Mumbai Indians since 2011 and has never been released into the auction; however, since the last IPL, there has been the buzz that the player has decided that his following years in the IPL would not be with MI.
Though nothing has been confirmed by either Rohit or MI yet, the veteran will be targeted by the likes of teams: the Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans, and defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. Owing to his supreme form internationally since last year’s World Cup, Rohit will be one of the record-breaking bids in the mega-auction. He will be bought for a supposed account, which can surely be much higher than his 16 crore INR, which would be his retention amount for MI.
KL Rahul
The LSG skipper has not been the very best since his arrival with the new franchise, as he was roped in for a historic 17 crore INR. Rahul was, however, seen last season having a debacle with the LSG owner, Sanjiv Goenka.
This time around, the Royal Challengers are likely interested in having the LSG skipper into their side as their skipper and also their opening batsman alongside Virat Kohli. They might get rid of the experienced Faf. Rahul might be again roped in as a million-dollar deal, as he can again be one of the biggest signings of this mega-auction.
Glenn Maxwell
The Aussie all-rounder, Maxwell, has been a very dominating player in the shortest format of the game. Maxwell has rightly indicated that he might once again be parting ways with another IPL franchise, and owning to his extremely weak streak with the side, even the RCB franchise is likely to release him.
Bought for a whopping 10 crores INR in the previous mega-auction, Maxwell can once again be brought in by any side for a lump sum of money, as Maxwell was an all-round excellent performer featuring for the MLC-winning side Washington Freedom.
Hardik Pandya
India’s ace all-rounder was brought in by the Mumbai Indians from the Gujarat Titans last season and was also handed over the captaincy role. Neither did the MI fans receive him well as the skipper, nor could he perform well.
Pandya, though, came back strongly and also revived his fanbase, as he led by example with his all-round excellence and won the T20 World Cup for India. Pandya, if not retained for such a whopping amount by the Mumbai Indians, will be back in the auction after years and will see another considerable increase in his market value.
ALSO READ: India hopes for Mohammad Shami’s probable return. Good for the Men in Blue, with the Champions Trophy and WTC final coming up the following year
Mohammad Shami
Owing to his long-injured status, there are immense chances that the Gujarat Titans might part ways with Mohammad Shami, who was retained for an entire season without a match in 2024.
With sights at the mega-auction, where teams will look to reinforce their main teams, Muhammad Shami will be a huge target for every franchise in the tournament. Shami has been one of IPL’s most experienced bowlers, and if he recovers from injury, then he can be one of the most highly-paid bowlers in the mega-auction, as teams likely did for Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the previous mini-auction.
