JEDDAH — Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 winning captain Shreyas Iyer was sold to Punjab Kings for a whopping INR 26.75 crore, the highest ever bid in the history of the tournament in the IPL 2025 Auction here at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah on Sunday.
With a base price of INR 2 crore, KKR wasted no time, making the first bid for their former leader. However, Punjab Kings (PBKS) quickly joined the fray, pushing the price up to INR 2.20 crore.
As the price surged to INR 5 crore, it was a two-horse race between KKR and PBKS. The tension mounted as KKR pushed their bid to INR 7.25 crore, but then, in a dramatic twist, Delhi Capitals (DC) threw their hat into the ring with a INR 7.50 crore offer. DC raised the stakes to INR 10 crore, but the bid climbed steadily as PBKS and DC traded blows, reaching INR 13.50 crore, then INR 16 crore, and eventually INR 20 crore.
At INR 22 crore, PBKS seemed determined, but DC countered with INR 22.50 crore as PBKS took the bid to INR 24.75 crore, only for DC to push it to INR 25 crore—as Iyer was now officially the most expensive player in the league’s history
However, PBKS retaliated with INR 26.25 crore, only to raise the price to INR 26.75 crore to claim the service of Iyer as a Marquee player.
Punjab Kings have the highest purse of INR 110.5 crore for the two-day gala event after retaining just two players - Shashank Singh, and Prabhsimran Singh - before the auction.
Earlier, Punjab Kings bought India pacer Arshdeep Singh for Rs 18 crore after using their Right to Match (RTM) card. Kagiso Rabada was the next player on the list and was bagged by Gujarat Titans for INR 10.75 crore. GT headed to the auction with a purse of INR 69 crore after retaining Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.