India's middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was in great demand during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old sparked an intense bidding war involving multiple franchises on Sunday, November 24, the first day of the event.
Iyer was expected to be on the radar of many teams, having led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a title victory in IPL 2024. KKR were the first team to bid for Iyer at the IPL 2025 auction.
Punjab Kings (PBKS), who were in search of a new captain, joined KKR in the bidding war. The Kolkata-based side stopped bidding at ₹9.75 crore, following which, PBKS were involved in a battle with Delhi Capitals (DC).
Punjab ultimately won the bidding war, acquiring the right-handed batter's services for a whopping ₹26.75 crore. Iyer is expected to be PBKS' skipper for the next year's edition.
The deal makes Iyer the second most expensive player in the league's history, just behind Rishabh Pant, who got a ₹27 crore deal at the IPL 2025 auction after being signed by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Shreyas Iyer scored 351 runs across 14 innings in IPL 2024
Shreyas Iyer had a dream season as the captain of KKR in 2024. He became the fifth Indian captain to win the coveted IPL trophy. His absence from Kolkata's list of retained players surprised many.
Iyer was the first IPL-winning captain to enter the auction. He had a decent campaign with the bat in IPL 2024, scoring 351 runs in 14 innings. The dynamic batter finished with a strike rate of 146.86 and an average of 39.
He received widespread praise for his leadership as he captained KKR to their third IPL title victory. The side enjoyed a dominant run in the league stage, finishing as the table-toppers with nine wins from 14 games.
The Shreyas Iyer-led side clinched an eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 to advance to the final. They beat Hyderabad by eight wickets in the summit clash as well to lift the trophy.
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