 "Jos Buttler was one of the mainstays for RR in the last few years. AP")
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction is just around the corner. The IPL 2025 mega auction will take place in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on 24 and 25 November, and it promises to be a grand affair with a total of 1,574 players having registered.
IPL Retention | Franchise-wise retained and released players, remaining auction purse and RTMs left
This includes 48 capped Indian players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, who were very recently the captains of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC). England’s Jos Buttler and Australian duo of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc are among the top foreign players who will be part of the IPL 2025 mega auction pool.
IPL 2025 Mega Auction | Venue, Live Streaming, Dates & Timings
We now take a look at 10 players who could become the most expensive purchases at the IPL 2025 auction:
KL Rahul (Rs 2 crore base price)
KL Rahul and LSG went their separate ways ahead of the 2025 IPL player auction. Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants for three seasons between 2022 and 2024, and led the franchise to two consecutive playoff appearances.
However, the player and the franchise decided to part ways after a difficult IPL 2024 season, where they finished in seventh place with 14 points. One worrying aspect of Rahul is his questionable strike-rate, but apart from that he is a proven leader having led Punjab Kings (PBKS) first and LSG now.
Rishabh Pant (Rs 2 crore base price)
LSG were not the only team to bid farewell to their skipper. Delhi Capitals sent off Rishabh Pant before the IPL 2025 player auction, which certainly was one of the most shocking surprise releases.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPant had only returned to competitive cricket in IPL 2024 for the first time since his horrific car accident in December 2022. Despite a slow start to the season, Pant somewhat found his batting rhythm by scoring three fifties. He finished the season with 446 runs from 13 matches (155.40 strike-rate).
Given the fearless brand of cricket he plays, Pant is definitely set to become one of the most expensive players at the IPL 2025 auction.
Shreyas Iyer (Rs 2 crore base price)
Despite guiding KKR to their third IPL title earlier this year, KKR decided to release their skipper Shreyas Iyer. While lack of consistency with the bat could be a reason, Iyer still offers quite a lot as a worthy captain. Delhi Capitals are reportedly interested on welcoming back Iyer, who had led the franchise to the IPL 2020 final where they lost to Mumbai Indians (MI).
Jos Buttler (Rs 2 crore base price)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) decided against retaining Jos Buttler and now that the England cricketer is back in the auction pool, several teams will be keen on going big for him.
He is a big-hitter, having scored two centuries last season, and also a captain who can lead the team from the front.
Phil Salt (Rs 2 crore base price)
Another aggressive England batter who could go for big bucks is Phil Salt. Salt played a defining role at the top of the order for KKR in IPL 2024, but the franchise still decided to release him. He forged vital partnerships with Sunil Narine, while scoring 435 runs from 12 matches at a strike-rate of 182.01.
Arshdeep Singh (Rs 2 crore base price)
Punjab Kings decided to retain just two players in Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh. Both are uncapped Indian players. PBKS go into the IPL 2025 auction with the biggest purse (Rs 110.50 crore) among all teams and have four RTM cards remaining. Arshdeep, who impressed for India at the 2024 T20 World Cup, will be on the radar of many franchises although PBKS could also use an RTM to buy him back.
Mitchell Starc (Rs 2 crore base price)
The Australia pacer had been acquired by KKR for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction, making him the most costliest buy in the IPL auction history.
Starc had a forgettable start to the IPL 2024 season with KKR, but found his form soon and ended up with 17 wickets from 14 matches.
Liam Livingstone
England’s Liam Livingstone is set to be one of the biggest players in demand at the IPL 2025 auction. He may have had a silent couple of seasons in the IPL, but still offers a lot in terms of his power-hitting abilities. An unbeaten 85-bsall 124 against West Indies in a recent ODI is proof what Livingstone can do. He also scored 87 runs agaist Australia in a T20I in September and also took two wickets.
Yuzvendra Chahal (Rs 2 crore base price)
Yuzvendra Chahal will most likely be in demand at the IPL 2025 player auction. He was released by RR and it will be interesting to see if they buy him back. Several other teams, including former side RCB, could also be interested in the spinner. RR, however, do not have any RTMs remaining.
Rachin Ravindra (Rs 1.5 crore base price)
The New Zealand big-hitter was released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) before the auction and that definitely would have been a difficult decision to let him go. CSK have just one RTM and should not come as a surprise if they use that on Rachin, who made an impact in IPL 2024 despite scoring just 222 runs from 10 matches.