The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction will see some of Indian cricket’s biggest names go under the hammer. The likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul among others are all tipped to pick up massive paycheques at the mega auction. With this being a mega auction and with teams needing to fill an entire roster, players may not fetch the huge prices of mini-auctions. However, former India cricketer-turned-pundit Aakash Chopra believes that the record of the most expensive IPL buy ever, set by Mitchell Starc ahead of IPL 2024, could still be broken.

“Rishabh Pant. I’m saying it again. He could still become the most expensive player in the history of the IPL,” said Chopra, speaking on his YouTube channel.

“He could go even beyond Rs 25-26 crore,” Chopra continued.

Pant was not retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the mega auction, bringing an end to a nine-year connection. Having won the T20 World Cup 2024 this year as India’s first-choice wicket-keeper batter, as well as having been in great form in Test cricket, Pant is widely expected to be the most expensive signing of the IPL mega auction.

Chopra said that he could see several teams caught up in a bidding war for Pant, hinting that Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be particularly interested.

“I can see three teams going absolutely hammer and tongs for him. One has Rs 110 cr (PBKS), one has Rs 83 cr (RCB). They’ll fight each other and a lot of money will be spent,” predicted Chopra.

While Pant’s former franchise Delhi Capitals have the third-highest auction purse, it is unlikely they would buy or retain him via a Right to Match (RTM) card.

Pant is likely to be in the middle of cricketing action during the auction days, as the first Test between India and Australia clashes with the auction dates.

The first Test will go on from November 22 to November 26, while the auction will take place in Jeddah on November 24 and November 25.