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Star all-rounder Krunal Pandya was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction in Jeddah, Saud Arabia on Monday, November 25. The Bengaluru-based franchise bought Krunal after a bidding war with Rajasthan Royals (RR).
They splurged ₹5.75 crore for Pandya to hire his services as the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) decided against the Right to Match (RTM) option. This is his third IPL franchise after brief stints with Mumbai Indians and LSG.
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With ₹5.75 crore, Krunal’s salary has dropped by ₹2.5 crore. The 33-year-old was last roped in by the Super Giants for ₹8.25 during the 2022 auction.
Krunal Pandya has played 127 IPL games, scoring 1,647 runs at a strike rate of 132.82. The left-arm spinner has also bagged 76 wickets at an economy rate of 7.36. Overall, Krunal has played 200 T20s, amassing 2757 runs (eight 50s) and picking up 139 wickets.
Besides all-round skills, Krunal briefly led LSG in IPL. He led the Super Giants to three wins in six games in the 2023 season.
Krunal is currently leading Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He smashed 45 off 35 balls and scalped one wicket in his last outing, which came against Uttarakhand.
“We have always seen the game as a leader” – When Krunal Pandya spoke about his leadership skills ahead of his IPL captaincy debut
Krunal Pandya said he had always seen the game as a leader before his captaincy debut in IPL 2023. He said (via ESPNcricinfo):
"Both Hardik and I have played cricket in a certain way, whether we were leaders within the team or not... we have always taken that responsibility. We have always seen the game as a leader.”
"So, when you see the game in that way, and then when you get the captaincy, it is slightly easier because you are already seeing the game in that way,” he added.
RCB buys so far:
Josh Hazlewood (₹12.25 crore), Phil Salt (₹11.50 crore), Jitesh Sharma (₹11 crore), Liam Livingstone (₹8.75 crore), Rasikh Dar (₹6 crore), Suyash Sharma (₹2.6 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (₹10.75 crore), Krunal Pandya (₹5.75 crore).
Retained players:
Virat Kohli (₹21 crore), Rajat Patidar (₹11 crore), Yash Dayal (₹5 crore).
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