The left-handed lower-order batter and the wicket-keeper of India, Rishabh Pant, who is gradually becoming the new poster boy of the country, could earn a new record during the upcoming mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which is scheduled to take place on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The classical big names of Indian cricket likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer, or the overseas giants of Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, and Kagiso Rabada, will be up for grabs in the competition. As of now, Starc, the left-arm pace bowler of Australia, is the costliest pick in the competition’s history when the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) signed him for INR 24.75 crore in the last mini-auction.
However, the former all-rounder of the Blue Brigade, Irfan Pathan, has made a different but surprising prediction on the record being in danger as the mega auction will offer many marquee players the chance to grab the spotlight from every franchise and that could lead them to increase their price.
Irfan Pathan anticipates seeing Rishabh Pant breaking the bank in the IPL 2025 mega-auction
Pathan felt that Rishabh Pant, who will be watching the mega auction from Australia due to his national commitment for the upcoming five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, could be the one to go past the amount.
Also Read: “Battered And Bruised!!”- Ravi Shastri Shocked With Comeback Of Rishabh Pant Before BGT 2024-25
“Mitchell Starc’s auction record is in danger. @RishabhPant17 is ready to break it.” The former premier all-rounder of the Indian side wrote on his ‘X’ account (formerly known as Twitter).
The Delhi-born has already been released by the Delhi Capitals franchise, with whom he spent eight seasons of his career in the competition, having smashed 3284 runs in 110 innings at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of around 150, shouldering on 18 half-centuries and one century at the best score of unbeaten 128 runs.
The runners-up from the 2020 edition have kept the spin all-rounder of India, Axar Patel, the left-arm leg spinner of the side, Kuldeep Yadav, the middle order batter from South Africa, Tristan Stubbs, along with the uncapped wicket-keeper batter Abhishek Porel, to enter the auction with a bag of INR 73 crore left in their kitty. They will also have the luxury of using two right-to-match card (RTM) options to get their old players back.
Rishabh Pant had a healthy time in IPL 2024, where the Uttar Pradesh-born smacked 446 runs in 13 innings at an average of more than 40 and a strike rate of over 155, thanks to his three half-centuries at the best score of unbeaten 88 runs.
When the franchise left out their former captain, Shreyas Iyer from the franchise, Pant became their captain and carried them to the playoffs in 2021, besides growing an excellent relationship with their former head coach Ricky Ponting, who has also parted ways with the team to join Punjab Kings before the 2025 mega auction.
Also Read: KL Rahul Resumes Practice After Suffering Blow To Hand Ahead Of First Test Of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Rishabh Pant has registered his name for a base price of INR 2 crore and will be part of the Set 1 among marquee players. The likes of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are eager to get his services, while KKR can also keep an eye on the auction battle.
A total of 574 players will feature in the auction, out of which 366 are Indian, and 208 are overseas, including three members from the associate nations. In the uncapped department of the list, 318 are from India, while 12 are overseas. A total of 204 slots will be up for grabs, with 70 available players in the overseas column.
