IPL 2025 mega auction: Check highest base price, key absentees and surprise picks after full list of 1574 players out
As the BCCI released the list of over 1500 players who will be up for grabs, here are the key takeaways as franchises build towards the IPL 2025 mega auction.
The likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who were not retained by Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) respectively, have listed their base price of ₹2 crore for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, who Rajasthan Royals have also released, have chosen the same amount as their base price as the full list of 1574 players that will go under the hammer at the IPL 2025 mega auction was revealed on Tuesday.
Mohammed Shami, who has not played competitive cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, was recently let go by Gujarat Titans. He too has opted to list his base price as ₹2 crore for the upcoming mega auction. The other Indian players to have listed their base price as ₹2 crore are Mohammed Siraj, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar, Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, T Natarajan, Devdutt Padikkal, Krunal Pandya, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Khaleel Ahmed, and Umesh Yadav. Umran Malik, who set the IPL 2022 on fire with pace, will start his bidding war at a base price of ₹75 lakh.
Australia pacer Mitchell Starc, for whom Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had broken the bank in last year's mini-auction, has listed his base price as ₹2 crore. For the unversed, Starc was picked up by KKR last year for a whopping amount of ₹24.50 crore, thus becoming the costliest buy in the history of the IPL.
Overseas stars such as Steve Smith, Jofra Archer, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Adam Zampa, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Trent Boult, Matt Henry, Kane Williamson, Kagiso Rabada, have also set base price of ₹2 crore. David Warner, who has retired from international cricket, has also listed himself for the auction at a base price of ₹2 crore. New Zealand all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, whom Chennai Super Kings decided not to retain, set his base price as ₹1.50 crore. Joe Root, not surprisingly enough, has opted out.
Ben Stokes missing from auction list; Italian cricketer signs up
England's Test captain Ben Stokes missing from the list of 1574 players who have registered for the IPL 2025 mega auction. On the other hand, James Anderson, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, has registered for the IPL auction at a base price of ₹1.25 crore. Anderson is currently serving as the bowling coach with the England team. The veteran has never been part of the IPL, and he last played a T20I for England, way back in 2014.
The long list of players who have signed up for the auction also includes Thomas Draca, a fast bowler from Italy. He was recently picked up by MI Emirates for the season of ILT20 in the UAE. The 24-year-old from Italy is placed at the 325th slot in the long list of players who have signed up for the auction. The IPL governing council will now prune this long list of players once they receive input from all ten franchises.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the IPL mega auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. Each franchise can build up a squad of up to 25 players. This effectively means that 204 slots are available at the auction after 46 players were retained across the ten teams from last season.
Each franchise has a total purse of ₹120 crore to build their squad. Heading into the auction, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse of ₹110.50 crore. They are followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ( ₹83 crore), Delhi Capitals ( ₹73 crore), Gujarat Titans ( ₹69 crore), Lucknow Super Giants ( ₹69 crore) Chennai Super Kings ( ₹55 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders ( ₹51 crore), Mumbai Indians ( ₹45 crore), Sunrisers Hyderabad ( ₹45 crore), Rajasthan Royals ( ₹41 crore).