The second day of the two-day Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Saudi Arabia kicked off on an exciting note, with Indian fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar capturing the spotlight as the most expensive player, purchased by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for a whopping ₹10.75 crore. The other three domestic star players followed in the top five included Deepak Chahar, bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) for ₹9.25 crore, Akash Deep, secured by Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) for ₹8 crore, and Mukesh Kumar, sold to DC (Delhi Capitals) for ₹8 crore. South African Marco Jansen was picked up by Punjab Kings for ₹7 crore to round off the top-five. RCB acquired Tim David for ₹3 crore, while Sam Curran was bought by Chennai Super Kings for ₹2.40 crore.
The teams had a combined remaining purse of ₹174 crore to fill up their final player spots. This event is scheduled to feature 143 players. Veterans James Anderson and Kane Williamson will not be participating in the tournament after being overlooked by all ten franchises.
On Day 2, RCB entered with the highest remaining purse of ₹30.65 crore. Similarly, MI is with ₹26.10 crore, Punjab Kings with ₹22.50 crore and Gujarat Titans with ₹17.50 crore.
RCB addressed their need for an experienced spin-bowling all-rounder by securing Krunal Pandya for ₹5.75 crore. Rajasthan Royals made notable acquisitions with Tushar Deshpande for ₹6.50 crore and Nitish Rana for ₹4.20 crore, while Delhi Capitals secured former former RCB captain Faf du Plessis at a bargain base price of ₹2 crore. Gujarat Titans acquired Washington Sundar for ₹3.20 crore.
Some of the unsold players included Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman; India’s left-handed batsman Devdutt Padikkal, Australia’s left-handed opening batsman David Warner, UK’s wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow, New Zealand’s off-spin bowler Kane Williamson and New Zealand’s off-spinner Glenn Phillips.
Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history on Day 1, surpassing Shreyas Iyer with a record ₹27 crore bid from Lucknow SuperGiants. Fast bowler Arshdeep Singh was the first player to be sold in IPL 2025 auction, purchased by Punjab Kings for ₹18 crore through the right to match (RTM) card. Punjab entered the auction with the largest purse of ₹110.5 crore. Another fast bowler, Mohammed Shami was bought by SRH for ₹10 crore.
