Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has become the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history after being sold for a record $3.2m as teams splashed out on world-class cricketers for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.
A total of 577 players are up for grabs at the two-day auction which began in Jeddah on Sunday.
Pant, England veteran James Anderson and New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra are among the top names on the auction list.
The 2023 record of $2.98m, paid by Kolkata Knight Riders for Australian pace bowler Mitchell Starc, was first breached by Punjab Kings, which snapped up Shreyas Iyer for $3.17m. Iyer, 29, captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL crown this year.
The bidding war intensified for Pant, who captained Delhi Capitals across three seasons but was released before this year’s mega auction and the Kolkata record for Iyer rapidly tumbled.
The IPL reported Lucknow Super Giants paid a “gigantic” $3.2m for the 27-year-old keeper-batsman.
Lucknow made the first move and fought off bids from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad as well as Delhi to rope in the player celebrated for his six-hitting ability and is likely to lead the franchise in the next season.
The auction started on a sizzling note when Indian quick Arshdeep Singh’s name began a bidding war, which ended with Punjab getting the left-arm pace bowler for $2.13m.
This year, Australian left-arm quick Starc was not retained by Kolkata. He went to Delhi Capitals for $1.39m.
Gujarat Titans paid $1.87m for England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler, while India pace bowler Mohammed Shami went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for $1.18m.
Shami, 34, has recovered from a foot injury and is expected to join the Test team in the ongoing series in Australia.
The IPL has generated billions in revenue since its inception in 2008, turning the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.
In June 2022, it sold the broadcast rights for five IPL seasons to global media giants for $6.2bn.
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