Jeddah, Nov 24 (IANS) Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 winning captain Shreyas Iyer was sold to Punjab Kings for a whopping Rs 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 Rs 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 Rs. 2.20 crore.
As the price surged to Rs 5 crore, it was a two-horse race between KKR and PBKS. The tension mounted as KKR pushed their bid to Rs. 7.25 crore, but then, in a dramatic twist, Delhi Capitals (DC) threw their hat into the ring with a Rs 7.50 crore offer. DC raised the stakes to Rs 10 crore, but the bid climbed steadily as PBKS and DC traded blows, reaching Rs. 13.50 crore, then Rs 16 crore, and eventually Rs 20 crore.
At Rs 22 crore, PBKS seemed determined, but DC countered with Rs. 22.50 crore as PBKS took the bid to Rs. 24.75 crore, only for DC to push it to Rs 25 crore—as Iyer was now officially the most expensive player in the league’s history
However, PBKS retaliated with Rs 26.25 crore, only to raise the price to Rs 26.75 crore to claim the service of Iyer as a Marquee player.
Punjab Kings have the highest purse of Rs 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 Rs 10.75 crore. GT headed to the auction with a purse of Rs 69 crore after retaining Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.