Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) owner Sanjiv Goenka with LSG captain for the IPL 2025 Rishabh Pant and mentor Zaheer Khan at an event, in Kolkata, on January 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Dynamic keeper-batter Rishabh Pant was on Monday named the captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the upcoming IPL and he vowed to give his “200%” to win the team’s maiden title.

Pant was picked at the mega auction for an IPL record ₹27 crore by the franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka.

“I will give my 200%. That’s my commitment to you. I will try whatever is there in my power to repay the faith. I am really excited and looking forward to new beginning and new energy. And have a blast out there with lot of fun,” Pant told mediapersons after being unveiled as the new skipper.

“We start with new hope and aspirations. And most importantly, new confidence. I wanted to introduce you all to our new captain Rishabh Pant,” Goenka said.

This is Pant’s second stint as a leader in the IPL.

At his former franchise Delhi Capitals, the captaincy became a point of contention, leading the 27-year-old Pant to opt out of DC’s retention plans after unsuccessful negotiations.

Pant beat Nicholas Pooran to secure the top job after Rahul didn’t feature in the list of LSG’s retained players. LSG had retained Pooran, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, and Ayush Badoni before the auctions.

Right after the auction, Goenka made a cryptic remark that the franchise wanted to keep players who put the team first ahead of their personal goals and milestones, which was construed as a dig at Rahul who often struggled to score at a brisk pace.

Asked about his new team going the distance in the IPL, Pant sounded optimistic.

“Definitely happy with the team. We have a mix of youth and experienced players. We have not been where we wanted to be… that’s the journey how we can take this franchise to newer heights.

Despite DC’s interest in keeping him, they were not fully committed to him leading the side, prompting Pant to re-enter the auction.

At the auction, they pipped Sunrisers Hyderabad, LSG to get Pant for Rs 20.75 crore, eventually they had to raise their price to Rs 27 crore to outbid Delhi Capitals’ right-to-match card.

“I know it’s a new beginning for me, new franchise, new owner. The ideology of captaining the side doesnt change. We will add a lot of things which we will discuss with the management and will see how we would take this forward in a better way.” Speaking about his captaincy mantra, “I’ve learnt from a lot of captains, seniors. You don’t only learn from captains, a lot of senior players are also there.

“With Rohit bhai you learnt how to care of a player. If you give confidence and trust he will do things which you can’t imagine. That’s the kind of ideology we will have. We will have a clear communication and a never-say-die attitude.

“How far are you willing to take it. That’s the kind of character we are looking for in our team.” Pant, who had been with DC since 2016, was appointed captain in 2021 and led the team until 2023 before a near-fatal car accident in December 2022 had ruled him out.

Set to appear in their fourth season of the league, Goenka termed it an “important moment” for the team.

“We finished the first leg of three years, we started the process of rebooting and planning.” 

The 33-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar stuck to his word, but when he eventually found out that he will be heading to the Chennai Super Kings, which pipped his former team Gujarat Titans with a bid of ₹1.2 crore, he was chuffed
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

On the eve of last weekend’s IPL mega auction in Jeddah, Vijay Shankar was asked whether he would be keeping an eye on the proceedings that will determine his future in the marquee T20 competition. “No, I won’t be watching. Nothing is in our control anyway,” was his quick response.

The 33-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder stuck to his word, but when he eventually found out that he will be heading to the Chennai Super Kings, which pipped his former team Gujarat Titans with a bid of ₹1.2 crore, he was chuffed. Apart from it being the franchise of his home State, it is also the franchise where he started his IPL journey, though he played just one game in 2014 when he was very much a rookie.

“I bowled one over for CSK in 2014. I didn’t bat. For me to have started my IPL career there and to go back to that team after 10 years is really special. It is a different feel altogether to play at Chepauk in the IPL. I have played there a few times when I was in the opposition,” Vijay told The Hindu. “There’s an aura that CSK has. The way they play cricket is different from other teams.”

After that lone appearance for the five-time IPL champion, he went on to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. He enjoyed some success with the Gujarat Titans particularly in 2023 — in 14 matches, he contributed 301 runs at 37.63 while striking at 160.11.

For the moment, he has his focus on doing well in Tamil Nadu’s domestic campaign. While he was left out of the team for the first two Ranji Trophy matches of the season, he has managed to make his experience count since making a comeback.

“It was very tough to sit out for two games. But you need to keep doing your best. That is the work ethic that has been instilled in me from my early days,” he said.

Cricket’s commercial behemoth, the IPL, raised the bar once again, generating eye-popping bids for the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer besides providing the opportunity of a lifetime to first-timers including 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The mega auction’s venue, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also added to the growing global appeal of the league as 182 players were sold over the two-day event.

PTI looks at how the 10 teams stack up following a memorable auction.

Delhi Capitals: Delhi Capitals, who surprisingly let go of their marquee player Pant, bought 19 players in the auction after retaining four including Axar Patel, Jake Fraser McGurk, Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Porel.

At ₹14 crore, their most expensive buy was KL Rahul who will be expected to open the batting alongside Fraser McGurk.

There is no denying the class of Rahul but his strike rate has come under the scanner season after season. It remains to be seen if he ends up leading the franchise.

Their playing composition looks sorted but they don’t have a lot of proven back up players in the middle-order.

The fast bowling has been bolstered with the arrival of Mitchell Starc and T Natarajan while the front-line spinners include the retained Axar and Kuldeep.

Mumbai Indians: Having spent a majority of their purse on five retained players including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma, the five-time champions have their Indian core all figured out.

Considering Mumbai spent ₹75 crore for their retentions, they were relatively quiet on day one of the auction before going for established fast bowlers on the concluding day.

Their biggest buy was New Zealand veteran Trent Boult (₹12.5), followed by injury-prone Deepak Chahar (₹9.25 crore).

The team has brought in English batter Will Jacks to offset Tim David’s departure. Following Ishan Kishan’s departure, the franchise doesn’t have a proven force to open alongside Rohit Sharma.

South African Ryan Rickelton is set to open the batting alongside the World Cup winning skipper.

Lucknow Super Giants: LSG purchased 19 players in the auction after retaining five including Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni.

They were the ones who made a record bid of ₹27 crore for Rishabh Pant who is set to captain the franchise.

Pant was by far their costliest buy with Avesh Khan (₹9.75 crore) and Akash Deep (₹8 crore) a distant second and third respectively. The likely opening pairing of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram is not the strongest in the competition, putting more responsibility on Pant and Pooran.

The fitness of their retained pacers Mohsin and Mayank over the course of 14 games also poses questions.

Rajasthan Royals: Royals were not the busiest team at the auction, having bought 14 players to go with its six retentions, the joint highest alongside KKR.

The retained players included five batters and only one bowler in Sandeep Sharma, therefore it wasn’t a surprise they tried to shore up that department.

Their most expensive buy at the auction — Jofra Archer at ₹12.5 crore — was a questionable one with perennial questions surrounding his fitness.

Royals would be hoping that he lives up to the potential come IPL 2025.

They let go of their star Indian spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, leaving a huge void, which is now expected to be filled by Sri Lankans Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga. Like Archer, even Hasaranga is injury-prone.

Also under the spotlight would be Suryavanshi, the 13-year-old batter from Bihar. He might not start the tournament but could get an opportunity down the line. He made his first-class debut at the age of 12, a testament to his rare talent.

Punjab Kings: Having retained just two uncapped players, Punjab Kings expectedly went on a shopping spree and ended up buying 23 players to hit the upper limit of squad size. The biggest buy was IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer at ₹26.75 crore and in all likelihood, he will lead the side.

Having under-performed consistently since IPL’s inception, Punjab are banking on new head coach Ricky Ponting for a much awaited change in fortunes.

Besides Arshdeep Singh, they don’t have an established Indian fast bowler, leaving a lot for New Zealander Lockie Ferguson and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen.

Spin duties will be shared by Chahal and Harpreet Brar. Young Delhi batter Priyansh Arya also fetched a life changing contract from Punjab Kings and would be desperate for an opportunity.

Kolkata Knight Riders: KKR bought 15 players at the auction and their most debatable purchase was Venkatesh Iyer at a whopping ₹23.75 crore.

The team benefitted from his ultra aggressive approach with the bat last season when it captured its third title.

KKR retained majority of the performers last season but will be interesting to see who captains the side following Iyer’s improbable exit. Venkatesh could be a potential captain if KKR decide to name an Indian leader.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Like KKR, SRH also impressed with their approach in the previous edition and ended up retaining their core including Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen.

The Cummins led side was able to get the players they wanted at a good price and they included Ishan Kishan (₹11.25 crore), Mohammed Shami (₹10 crore), Harshal Patel (₹8 crore) and Adam Zampa (₹2.40 crore).

They also have decent back up for Indian pacers and Rahul Chahar is another effective leg-spin option alongside Zampa.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: RCB retained three players — Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal and Rajat Patidar — leaving them with a lot to do at the auction. They did not have a very productive opening day but caught up on day two. Fast bowling has been the weaker link for RCB over the years and they have tried to fix that with signing of Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The heavy English flavour to the squad is provided by Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Phillp Salt. Their superstar, Kohli, could be seen captaining the unit once again as RCB chase the elusive crown.

Gujarat Titans: After retaining five players, Gujarat bought 20 players to reach the maximum squad limit. The buying featured plenty of fast bowlers including Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Prasidh Krishna.

Jos Buttler was one headline buy and he is expected to open alongside skipper Shubman Gill.

The middle-order doesn’t posses the firepower possessed by other teams, putting the onus on retained Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.

Chennai Super Kings: CSK are known for their value buys at the auction and tend to go after the players they were unable to retain. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to see Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra being bought back for ₹6.25 crore and ₹4 crore respectively. The other bargain buys included Sam Curran (₹2.40 crore) and Rahul Tripathi (₹3.40 crore).

R Ashwin’s return to CSK attracted most attention as he went for ₹9.75 crore.

A view of the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday (November 5, 2024).

This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.

The player registration officially closed on Monday (November 4, 2024) and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.

Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.

The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.

Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.

This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.

The 10 franchises will collectively have around ₹641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.

Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.

As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of ₹558.5 crore.

Each franchise was allocated ₹120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse — ₹110.5 crore.

The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players — Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for ₹9.5 crore.

Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of ₹41 crore after retaining six players.

The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of ₹51 crore.

Virat Kohli has dropped elaborate hints that he would like to continue playing competitive cricket till 2027 with an aim to complete 20 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after being retained by the franchise
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Virat Kohli has dropped elaborate hints that he would like to continue playing competitive cricket till 2027 with an aim to complete 20 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after being retained by the franchise for a hefty fee of ₹21 crore.

Having entered the twilight zone of his illustrious career, speculations are rife about how long the 36-year-old would continue in top flight cricket having endured a prolonged lull for the last four years since the start of COVID-19.

Kohli has been playing for RCB ever since IPL’s inception in 2008 and is the leading run-scorer in the competition, amassing over 8,000 runs at a healthy if not spectacular strike rate of 131.97, including eight hundreds and 55 fifties.

“At the end of this cycle, it is going to be 20 years that I am going to be playing for RCB and that in itself is a very, very special feeling for me,” Kohli told ‘RCB Bold Diaries’ indicating that he aims to continue for at least another three years till 2027.

“I have never thought that I am going to play so many years for one team, but the relationship has truly become special over so many years.

He reiterated that he doesn’t see himself playing for any other franchise.

“I don’t see myself anywhere other than RCB, and I am very happy that it happened. I am very excited that I got a chance to create a strong new squad in this auction, something that we are really looking forward to as a franchise, as a team,” Kohli said in RCB’s Bold Diaries video.

He also pondered on the fact that he shared a close bond with the franchise and its fans, while his goal would be to win the elusive title.

“I am super excited as ever as everyone knows what RCB means to me. It’s been a very, very special relationship over so many years, which continues to grow stronger, and what I have experienced playing for RCB is truly special. I hope that the fans and everyone who’s connected to the franchise feel the same way,” he continued.

“I am also just looking forward to this cycle. Obviously, the goal is to win the IPL title at least once in the next cycle.” He promised that RCB will leave no stone unturned to win their elusive IPL title.

“We are going to give it our best shot as always and try to make everyone proud of the way we play our cricket. A big shout out to the fans for your unwavering support over so many years. I am really grateful, really thankful,” Kohli concluded.

Kohli will be a key to RCB’s success: Andy Flower

Meanwhile, following Kohli’s retention, RCB head coach Andy Flower admitted that while the retention itself is not surprising, he would be the key to RCB’s success in the coming years.

“Virat’s retention won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone in India. He is and will be a key to RCB’s success in the future. He was sensational last year. He was one of the leaders who propelled us into the playoffs despite a poor first half of the season,” he told JioCinema.

Besides Kohli, RCB has also retained two more players — Rajat Patidar (₹11 crore) and Yash Dayal (₹5 crore).

As a result, RCB will have a purse of ₹83 crore heading into the mega auction tentatively scheduled later this month.

The franchise would also contain three Right To Match (RTM) cards, allowing it to retain three more players (an uncapped player and two capped players, or three capped players).

Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green are among the top RCB players set to go under the hammer.

Former India and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has hinted at a potential return for IPL 2025, saying he wants to enjoy “whatever last few years of cricket” he can play, amid speculation regarding his availability for the upcoming season.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Former India and Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has hinted at a potential return for IPL 2025, saying he wants to enjoy “whatever last few years of cricket” he can play, amid speculation regarding his availability for the upcoming season.

There has been speculation about Dhoni’s future since he handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad in the last season and began batting lower in the order.

Franchises must submit their retained player lists by October 31 ahead of the mega auction. Dhoni could be retained by CSK as an uncapped player this year due to the reintroduction of a rule allowing players retired from international cricket for five years to be classified as uncapped.

“I just want to enjoy whatever last few years of cricket I’m able to play,” a report in ESPNcricinfo quoted Dhoni as saying on Sunday at a promotional event held in Goa a couple of days ago.

“Like how during our childhood we used to go out and play at 4[pm], just enjoying the game. But when you play professional sport it becomes difficult to enjoy the game just like a game. So what I want to do is, there are emotions and commitments, but I want to enjoy the game for the next few years.” Last week, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan had also said that he is hopeful of Dhoni being part of the upcoming season.

Dhoni, who underwent left knee surgery in 2023, batted lower down the order during the 2024 IPL edition. The former India skipper explained that this decision was primarily to provide game-time to aspiring Indian players ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“My thinking was simple, if others are doing their job well why do I need to come up the order,” Dhoni said.

“If you’re talking about last year (season) specifically, the T20 World Cup squad was going to be announced soon. So we have to give people who are fighting for a spot a chance.

“In our team (CSK) we had a few, (Ravindra) Jadeja was there, Shivam Dube was there so you give them an opportunity to prove themselves to get into the Indian team. There was nothing in it for me, no selection and other things. So I’m good behind [playing down the order] and my team was happy with what I was doing.”

“Love how teams are playing Test cricket now”

Dhoni has praised the result-oriented aggressive approach, often referred to as “Bazball,” that teams are adopting in Test cricket these days.

“You can give cricket any term that you want to, what we have seen is cricket has evolved. The way people are playing cricket is very different. There was a time when in ODIs something was considered a safe score, now that score is not safe in T20s too,” Dhoni said.

“You give something a term, it becomes much more interesting because you start talking about it, you start relating to it but at the end of the day what is it? It’s a way to play cricket.” Having played 90 Tests for India, Dhoni reflected on the challenges of playing on the fifth day when a match appeared headed for a draw.

“For me, the most difficult time during a Test match was the fifth day of a match which is the last day when you knew that 100% it is going to be a draw,” he said in the report.

“I would still need to keep for nearly 2.5 sessions and that was the most tiring part. You see there is no result happening, you are just going through the motions. Yes, bowlers would like to take wickets, batters will try to score runs, [but] there is no result in the game.

“You think let’s finish this and go, why do I have to be here. So I love the fact there’s change in the way teams are playing Test cricket.” Not a fan of draws, Dhoni emphasized the importance of having a result after five days of play.

“Imagine telling someone who doesn’t know much cricket we play over five days and we start at 9.30 and 4.30 is the scheduled end of play, we play till 5[pm] sometimes, and after five days we don’t get a result. That’s not nice for the game. So I love how there’s more results in today’s world.

“Even if we are playing only four days of cricket and one day gets washed out, still you get a result – that’s the beauty of Test cricket and that’s how it should stay – you want to get a result after five days and you shouldn’t have a draw.”

Each of the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises can retain up to five cricketers — with no restriction on nationality — pre-auction ahead of the 2025 edition. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced for the player auction to be held later in the year
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Each of the 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises can retain up to five cricketers — with no restriction on nationality — pre-auction ahead of the 2025 edition. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced for the player auction to be held later in the year

The player retention rules were finalised by the IPL Governing Council during its meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday (September 28, 2024). Unlike in the past, though, the IPL authorities have devised “pay more to retain more” policy.

The first three retentions will see the auction purse — finalised at ₹120 crore for a team — being reduced by ₹18 crore, ₹14 crore and ₹11 crore, respectively. However, the two other additional retentions will cost more than the third.

The fourth and the fifth retention will see reduction of ₹18 crore and ₹14 crore, respectively. 

It means a team will see its auction purse reduced by a whopping ₹75 crore on five players, with only ₹45 crore in its kitty for the IPL auction.

The General Council also introduced match-fees of ₹7.5 lakh for each of the 12 players in the league stage. The compensation will be over and above the contract fees for a player. The decision was announced by BCCI secretary Jay Shah through his social media handle.