Day 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction saw some intense bidding wars and teams breaking the bank to rope in some of the biggest names for the upcoming seasons.
There were some record-breaking deals with teams going all out for the superstars. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Venkatesh Iyer went for massive sums while franchises spent a fair amount on uncapped players as well.
As many as 84 players went under the hammer at the IPL 2025 auction on the first day. Seventy-two players were sold as franchises spent a staggering INR 467.95 crore. However, 12 players remained unsold and did not find any bidders.
Day 1 of the IPL 2025 auction lived up to the excitement and anticipation. Teams will be keen to complete their squads on the second day and it will be interesting to see how franchises go about their business.
Looking forward to the second day, here are the top takeaways from Day 1 of the IPL 2025 auction.
Top 5 takeaways from Day 1 of IPL 2025 Auction
#5 Contrast in spending between teams with highest purse
Before the start of the IPL 2025 auction, Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were the two teams with the highest purse amount respectively.
It was expected that both teams would go all out for certain players, taking advantage of the aforementioned fact. However, that was not the case as there was a contrast in the way both teams went about their spending on Day 1.
Punjab Kings went after big names like Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal, spending massively. Overall, they spent a whopping INR 88 crore and bought 10 players. On the other hand, RCB seemed to be slightly conservative in their approach, spending INR 52.35 crore and buying six players.
#4 David Warner and Devdutt Padikkal among unsold players
As many as 12 players were unsold on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 auction. Among these players, two names stand out - David Warner and Devdutt Padikkal.
Warner, a veteran of the league, remained unsold and found no bidders. He is among the most prolific batters in IPL history and is among the top run-getters as well. Warner has played 184 matches and amassed 6,565 runs with four hundreds and 62 fifties.
Meanwhile, another left-handed top-order batter remained unsold. Padikkal did not find any franchises bidding for him even at his base price, coming as a surprise, to say the least.
#3 Fast bowlers in great demand once again
In the T20 format, often referred to as a batters game, fast bowling is a crucial aspect for any team to be successful. Each team requires highly skilled and equipped fast bowlers, who can handle pressure, adapt to various conditions, and pick up wickets as well.
The value of fast bowlers was clearly evident as they were in great demand on Day 1 of the IPL 2025 auction. Prominent pacers such as Mitchell Starc (INR 11.75 Cr), T Natarajan (INR 10.75 Cr), Mohammed Siraj (INR 12.25 Cr), Kagiso Rabada (INR 10.75 Cr), Trent Boult (INR 12.5 Cr), Jofra Archer (INR 12.5 Cr), and Arshdeep Singh (INR 18 Cr) were among those who went for big money.
Several other Indian pacers such as Vaibhav Arora, Vyshak Vijaykumar, and Prasidh Krishna were among the top buys.
#2 Uncapped players in demand
While teams did go heavily after the big international stars, there were bidding wars for several uncapped players as well. Franchises invested significantly in uncapped players on the opening day of the IPL 2025 auction.
Pacer Rasikh Dar, purchased by RCB for INR 6 crore, became the most expensive uncapped player on the opening day. The likes of Naman Dhir (INR 5.25 Cr), Abdul Samad (INR 4.20 Cr), Nehal Wadhera (INR 4.20 Cr), Ashutosh Sharma (INR 3.80 Cr), Abhinav Manohar (INR 3.20 Cr) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (INR 3 Cr) attracted huge bids from franchises.
With a large number of uncapped players being sold, it highlighted their demand and teams investing in young talent.
#1 Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer secure record-breaking bids
As expected, the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer ignited massive bidding wars among teams on the first day of the IPL 2025 auction. Wicket-keeper batter Pant created history by becoming the most expensive player in the history of the league after he was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping INR 27 crore.
Shreyas Iyer, the title-winning captain from last season, also attracted a lucrative bid as he was sold for a massive INR 26.75 crore. Further, all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer was bought back by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a staggering INR 23.75 crore.
Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal also triggered intense bidding wars as Punjab Kings acquired both players for INR 18 crores each.
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