Rishabh Pant will be one of the marquee players in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. The wicketkeeper-batsman has registered himself for the auction at the base price of INR 2 crore.
Not many were expecting Pant to go under the hammer in the auction. One of the best batsmen in the country and India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across formats, Rishabh Pant is already tipped by many to become the most expensive player in the IPL 2025 auction.
Delhi Capitals were expected to retain their captain. However, the franchise and the player failed to reach an agreement in time and the latter decided to register himself for the auction. Pant has been playing for the Delhi-based outfit since his first IPL season in 2016.
After his exploits in domestic cricket and at the Under-19 level, Delhi Capitals signed him up in the 2016 auction. In his first season, Rishabh Pant played 10 games and scored 198 runs with the help of one fifty.
In IPL 2017, he played all 14 league games for Delhi Capitals and established himself as an integral member of the team. He scored 366 runs with the help of two half-centuries.
In 2018, Pant enjoyed his most prolific IPL season with the bat so far. Even though Delhi Capitals once again failed to reach the playoffs, the wicketkeeper-batsman made a big impact with the bat.
In 2014, he scored 684 runs with the help of a century and five fifties. He scored his runs at a strike rate of almost 174.
Since 2018, Rishabh Pant has not scored less than 300 runs in a season. From 2019 to 2022, he scored more than 400 runs in a season twice and more than 300 runs in a season twice.
In 2021, he was also appointed as the captain of Delhi Capitals. The star batsman missed the 2023 season entirely due to the injuries he had sustained in the car accident.
He returned to action in IPL 2024 and hit the ground running. Even after returning to action following a gap of more than a year, Rishabh Pant hit the ground running. In IPL 2024, he scored 446 runs with the help of three half-centuries.
Overall, Pant has played 111 games so far and has scored 3284 runs including a century and 18 half-centuries. In the upcoming auction, he is expected to attract interest from several teams.
Several teams such as Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, as well as champions Kolkata Knight Riders, are on the lookout for a captain. In such a case, Pant could be in good demand in the auction.
A wicketkeeper-batsman, a leader, and one of India’s top players, Pant has several factors on his side that could earn him a huge deal in the IPL auction.
Rishabh Pant Bought By Lucknow Super Giants For INR 27 crore at IPL Auction 2025:
Lucknow Super Giants have signed up Rishabh Pant for a record amount of INR 27 crore. The wicketkeeper-batsman has now become the most expensive player in the history of the IPL.
Earlier in the auction, Shreyas Iyer became the most expensive player after being bought for INR 26.75 crore by Punjab. However, his record lasted less than an hour as Lucknow Super Giants went big for the wicketkeeper-batsman.
Lucknow, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad wanted Rishabh Pant. In the end, Lucknow Super Giants made the winning bid at INR 20.75 crore. Delhi Capitals used the RTM option but pulled out of the race when Lucknow raised the bid to 27 crore.