Lucknow picks Pant for a record $3.2m in the IPL auction, followed by Shreyas Iyer at $3.17m, taken by Punjab.
Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has become the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history after being sold for a record $3.2m as teams splashed out on world-class cricketers for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
A total of 577 players are up for grabs at the two-day auction which began in Jeddah on Sunday.
Pant, England veteran James Anderson and New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra are among the top names on the auction list.
The 2023 record of $2.98m, paid by Kolkata Knight Riders for Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc, was first breached by Punjab Kings, which snapped up Shreyas Iyer for $3.17m. Iyer, 29, captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL crown this year.
The bidding war intensified for Pant, who captained Delhi Capitals across three seasons but was released before this yearโs mega auction and the Kolkata record for Iyer rapidly tumbled.
The IPL reported Lucknow Super Giants paid a โgiganticโ $3.2m for the 27-year-old keeper-batsman.
Lucknow made the first move and fought off bids from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad as well as Delhi to rope in the player celebrated for his six-hitting ability and is likely to lead the franchise in the next season.
๐จ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐จ
๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ง๐ช๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ ๐ฅ
๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ป๐ to ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ for a gigantic ๐๐ก๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐โก๏ธ #TATAIPLAuction | #TATAIPL | @RishabhPant17 | @LucknowIPL |โฆ pic.twitter.com/IE8DabNn4V
โ IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 24, 2024
The auction started on a sizzling note when Indian quick Arshdeep Singhโs name began a bidding war, which ended with Punjab getting the left-arm pace bowler for $2.13m.
This year, Australian left-arm quick Starc was not retained by Kolkata. He went to Delhi Capitals for $1.39m.
Gujarat Titans paid $1.87m for England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler, while India pace bowler Mohammed Shami went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.18m.
Shami, 34, has recovered from a foot injury and is expected to join the Test team in the ongoing series in Australia.
The IPL has generated billions in revenue since its inception in 2008, turning the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.
In June 2022, it sold the broadcast rights for five IPL seasons to global media giants for $6.2bn.
