IPL 2025 Auction: Full list of 10 most expensive players of all time

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah got off to an eventful start on Sunday. A total of 84 players went under the hammer on the opening day of the IPL auction on Sunday, and the record for the costliest player in IPL history was not broken once, but twice. Shreyas Iyer had been reportedly pipped to return to Delhi Capitals (DC).

Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title earlier this year, had been released by the franchise ahead of the auction. KKR once again went after Iyer at the auction on Sunday, and were involved in a bidding war against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

IPL 2025 Auction |  Full list of sold and unsold players from Day 1 of the event in Jeddah

The Knight Riders, however, backed out once the Capitals came into the picture and it was a battle between DC and PBKS before PBKS secured the 29-year-old for a mammoth Rs 26.75 crore . Iyer had thus beaten Mitchell Starc’s record from IPL 2024 auction, when the Australia pacer had been acquired by KKR for Rs 24.75 crore.

IPL Auction 2025 | From Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer to Josh Hazlewood, most expensive buys on Day 1 in Jeddah

However, Iyer did not last long as the most expensive player in IPL history. Rishabh Pant, who had parted ways with Delhi Capitals, came under the hammer a few minutes after Iyer. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were involved in a two-way fight for Pant before Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) entered the fray. DC also showed their interest in buying Pant after they looked to match LSG’s bid of 20.75 crore, via RTM. However, the Capitals decided against further proceeding with Pant, who was eventually acquired by LSG for Rs 27 crore.

Over the years in the IPL auction, several players, be it Indian or foreign players, have fetched record-breaking bids. We now take a look at the top 10 most expensive IPL players of all-time: