Lucknow Super Giants Sign Rishabh Pant for Record INR 27 Crores

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) shattered the record for the most expensive player at an IPL auction after buying Rishabh Pant for INR 27 crores.

Pant Surpasses Shreyas Iyer's Record

Pant surpassed the INR 26.75 crores that Punjab Kings (PBKS) shelled out to sign Shreyas Iyer earlier in the first marquee set of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

LSG Outbids RCB and SRH

LSG entered the bidding for Pant right from the front and stayed the course to thwart attempts from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as well as the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The bidding stopped at INR 20.75 crores, at which point the Delhi Capitals (DC) indicated their interest to use the Right To Match (RTM) option. LSG then decided to hike up the price to INR 27 crores as per the new RTM regulations.

Shreyas Iyer Becomes First Indian Player to Breach INR 20 Crore-mark

Before Pant's big payday, the M1 marquee set of the auction also saw IPL 2024-winning captain Iyer becoming the first Indian player to breach the INR 20 crore-mark in the auction. Iyer's signing was sought by both of the teams he's captained previously, DC and KKR, before PBKS flexed their hefty auction purse to wrest him for INR 26.75 crores.

Other Notable Signings

• Punjab Kings (PBKS) re-signed Arshdeep Singh for INR 18 crores after SRH won the bid for the World Cup-winning fast bowler for INR 15.75 crores and later raised his price by a further INR 2.25 crores.
• Gujarat Titans signed Jos Buttler (INR 15.75 crores) and Kagiso Rabada (INR 10.75) from the marquee set.