Hardik Pandya continued his rich vein of form by smashing five sixes and scoring 28 runs in an over bowled by left-arm spinner Parvez Sultan as Baroda crushed Tripura by seven wickets in a Group B game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday. Chasing a meagre target of 110, Baroda rode on Hardik’s 47 off 23 balls to complete the task in just 11.2 overs, after elder brother Krunal Pandya did well with the new ball to finish with figures of 2/22. The highlight for the sparse crowd was the entertainment provided by Hardik as he launched into Sultan, hitting him for three sixes between long-off and extra cover region and another two in the cow corner.

Hardik has had a fantastic Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament so far with contributions in all four wins for Baroda. His sequence of scores read 74 not out, 41 not out, 69 and 47, and he has also picked up a couple of wickets along the way.

Brief Scores: Tripura 109/9 in 20 overs (Mandeep Singh 50, Krunal Pandya 2/22). Baroda 115/3 in 11.2 overs (Hardik Pandya 47). Baroda won by 7 wickets.

Shardul Thakur records worst bowling figures

Snubbed at the IPL auction, Shardul Thakur recorded the worst bowling figures in the history of SMAT T20 by going for 69 runs in four overs in Mumbai’s 43-run defeat in a Group E match against Kerala in Hyderabad.

Shardul was hit for six sixes and five fours even as he got Sanju Samson’s (4) wicket early in the game.

Unheralded Salman Nizar blitzed his way to an unbeaten 99 off 49 balls, which completely overshadowed Ajinkya Rahane’s stroke-filled 68 off 35 balls in this high-scoring game.

Batting first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Kerala piled up 234 for 5 riding on Salman and Rohan Kunnummal’s (87 off 48 balls) 140-run stand for the third wicket in just 13.2 overs. Salman hit eight sixes and Kunnummal had seven maximums to his credit.

In reply, Mumbai were restricted to 191 for 9 despite Rahane’s efforts. Prithvi Shaw started well with two fours and two sixes but could only contribute 23 off 13 balls, while skipper Shreyas Iyer, despite a good beginning, could contribute only 32 off 18 balls. Pacer MD Nidheesh took 4 for 30.

Brief Scores: Kerala 234/5 in 20 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 87, Salman Nizar 99 not out). Mumbai 191/9 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 68, Shreyas Iyer 32, Prithvi Shaw 23, MD Nidheesh 4/30). Kerala won by 43 runs.

Delhi use 11 bowlers vs Manipur

A confident Delhi used all their 11 players, including regular wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat, for bowling during an easy four-wicket victory over Manipur headlined by opener Yash Dhull’s patient 59 off 51 balls in a Group C game in Mumbai.

Opting to bat, inexperienced Manipur could manage only 120 for 8 in their 20 overs with keeper-batter Ahmed Shah scoring 32. Shah’s 52-run stand with skipper Rex Singh (23) helped Manipur get past 100-run mark after being reduced to 41 for 6 in the 10th over.

Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni, in an unusual move, even used his keeper Rawat for an over while donning the big gloves himself. This was after he got a wicket with his off-breaks.

Left-arm spinner Harsh Tyagi (2/11) and off-spinner Digvesh Singh (2/8) got a couple of wickets apiece.

Delhi took 18.3 overs to compete the chase with Dhull anchoring it with eight boundaries and a six over deep mid-wicket off Kishan Singha. However, seasoned T20 players like Badoni and Priyansh Arya fell cheaply. Himmat Singh’s poor run of form also continued.

Brief Scores: Manipur 120/8 in 20 overs (Ahmed Shah 32, Digvesh Singh 2/8, Harsh Tyagi 2/11).

Delhi 124/6 in 18.3 overs (Yash Dhull 59 not out). Delhi won by 4 wickets. PTI KHS KHS AH AH

Just a couple of days after being bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction, KL Rahul seems to already be in good terms with the management of the franchise. DC co-owner Parth Jindal had stated that he intends to treat KL Rahul with the “love and respect he deserves” following the auction, and also mentioned that him and Rahul had visited football Bengaluru FC matches together, another team owned by Jindal. Now Rahul has put up a hilarious post on his Instagram, putting a clip of him juggling a cricket ball and asking Jindal whether there is a spot at Bengaluru FC too.

“Got an opening at Bengaluru FC?” posted Rahul on an Instagram story. It is important to note that Rahul hails from Bengaluru as well.

KL Rahul’s IPL journey has seen him represent four different franchises: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings, and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Despite his stellar performances, an IPL title has remained elusive. His move to the Delhi Capitals signals a mutual pursuit of the coveted trophy, as both player and team aim to end their title drought.

Rahul’s versatility as a batter and wicketkeeper has established him as one of the league’s most valuable players. Starting his IPL career in the middle order, he soon transitioned to an opening role, consistently topping the run charts. Between 2018 and 2022, Rahul scored over 590 runs each season, underscoring his reliability and prowess at the crease.

In 2018, Rahul stunned fans with a blazing 14-ball fifty against the Delhi Daredevils, setting a record for the fastest half-century in the tournament at the time.

In 2020, he won the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs in the season, amassing an impressive 670 runs.

Rahul’s leadership journey began with the Punjab Kings in the 2020-21 season, where he took on his first captaincy role, showcasing his strategic acumen.

After joining LSG, he led the team to the playoffs in their debut season and repeated the feat the following year. However, a thigh injury limited him to just nine matches in IPL 2023.

Rahul’s acquisition by the Delhi Capitals is both a strategic move and a bold statement of intent. With his consistent run-scoring ability and proven leadership, he is expected to play a pivotal role in the Capitals’ quest for their maiden IPL title. As the new season approaches, both KL Rahul and the Delhi Capitals will be hoping to forge a successful partnership and finally claim the IPL trophy.

(With ANI inputs)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction concluded with Rs 639.15 crore being spent, scripting a new recording in the event’s history. While the franchises managed to cover most bases in the auction, there do remain cases of hits and misses. Assembling a squad is one thing and getting them to perform in unison is another. Though only the start of the new season would suggest which teams are the strongest and which aren’t, some bit of analysis can be made by looking at the teams on paper.

While all 10 teams have around 20 players in their squad each, only 11 of them, excluding the Impact Substitute, can make the team sheet on a given matchday. Injuries and form issues will also be a part of the team selection. But, on paper, here’s a look at the strongest XIs for each team, as well as their RTM options.

Strongest Playing XIs and Impact Player Choices of all 10 franchises in IPL 2025:

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Rachin Ravindra/Sam Curran, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Matheesha Pathirana, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad

Impact: Deepak Hooda/Anshul Kamboj

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Anrich Nortje

Impact: Manish Pandey/Mayank Markande

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (wk), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav

Impact: Shahbaz Ahmed/Akash Deep

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Robin Minz (wk), Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult

Impact: Karn Sharma/Arjun Tendulkar

Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk/Faf du Plessis, KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Harry Brook, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

Impact: Sameer Rizvi/Mohit Sharma

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt (wk), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Swapnil Singh

Impact: Suyash Sharma /Devdutt Padikkal

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Adam Zampa, Simarjeet Singh, Mohammed Shami

Impact: Atharva Taide

Gujarat Titans: Jos Buttler (wk), Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford/Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Impact: Mahipal Lomror/Ishant Sharma

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Shreyas Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact: Vyshak Vijakumar/Vishnu Vinod

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana/Fazalhaq Farooqi, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande

Impact: Shubham Dubey/Akash Madhwal

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction saw some stunning steal deals unfold over two days in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Franchises had to spend big in order to buy coveted stars like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Venkatesh Iyer, etc. on Day 1. But on the second day, some big bargains unfolded as franchises landed some established stars from the auction pool, while others simply didn’t have the money left to go all-in. Some of the top players franchises were lucky to sign for a bargain price includes the names of Washington Sundar, Glenn Maxwell, Quinton de Kock, etc.

Glenn Maxwell: Though the Australian all-rounder’s form is mostly the flip of a coin, the franchise putting its money on him can’t really be sure which Maxwell would turn up in a particular season. Maxwell was released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the mega auction after a flop IPL 2024 campaign. With form not helping his case in the mega auction, Punjab Kings snapped Maxwell up for a cut-price deal of Rs 4 crore.

Tim David: Another Australia in the list, only a couple of years ago, David was being seen as one of the finest middle-order batters in the world, when it comes to the shortest format. But a poor run of form saw his stock decline. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, having let go of Maxwell, decided to replace him by signing David from the auction. He only cost INR 3 crore.

Adam Zampa: There’s no stopping Australian in the list, with spinner Adam Zampa slotting in at the No. 3 spot. With 341 wickets across 280 T20 games, Zampa is one of the top spinners in white-ball cricket at present. Though he hasn’t been able to replicate the same impact in the IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad would be hopeful of that change as Zampa wears the orange shirt under the captaincy of his compatriot Pat Cummins. He was signed for just Rs 2.40 crore.

Quinton de Kock: One of the most fearsome opening batters in the game, De Kock was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for a stunningly low fee of INR 3.60 crore. Landing a player who has scored 3,157 runs in 107 IPL matches, including two centuries, is a bargain that the KKR management would be immensely proud of.

Washington Sundar: Topping the charts is India all-rounder Washington Sundar. When Sundar was released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was expected to cost somewhere around INR 10 crore in the auction. But, the spin-bowling all-rounder only cost Gujarat Titans Rs. 3.20 crore. With a T20 international record of 47 wickets from 52 matches and an economy rate of 6.87, Sundar is arguably the smartest buy of the auction.

File image of KL Rahul.© BCCI/IPL

Once touted as the player who possess the same talent as the greats Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag, Prithvi Shaw saw his career hit an all-new low in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. The opening batter didn’t receive a single bid in the auction on Monday despite keeping his base price at a meagre INR 75 lakh. Shaw remains a player of high potential but disciplinary issues seem to have taken a massive toll on him, sending his cricketing career on a downward spiral. As Shaw went unsold in the auction, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif showed him the cruel reality of his current status.

Kaif, who also worked with Shaw as part of the coaching staff at Delhi Capitals, revealed how the franchise did everything it could to back the opening batter despite his repeated failures. But, Shaw failed to return the favour with the bat.

“Delhi has backed Prithvi Shaw a lot. DC had hoped that he is a powerplay player and would hit 6 boundaries in one over. And he did that too. He hit Shivam Mavi for 6 fours in an over. He had a lot of potential and DC backed him to the hilt. We always thought that if Shaw manages to score, we will win. And we gave him a lot of chances,” Mohammed Kaif said on Jio Cinema during the IPL auction.

“There were meetings in the night where we would sit and ponder if Prithvi should play or not because he has been failing. So at night we would decide that Prithvi would not be in the playing XI, and then later on the day of the match, we would change our decision – that, no he will because maybe if he goes big, we would win,” Kaif further narrated.

Mohammad Kaif reaction to Prithvi Shaw Unsold in IPL Mega Auction.#IPLAuction #IPLAuctiononJioStar#IPLauctions2025 #IPL2025pic.twitter.com/PASKGrXxPU

— K.Uday (@udayvardhan_k) November 25, 2024

Kaif also feels that Shaw should be embarrassed to have not received any bid at a base price of INR 75 lakh. The road ahead, for the top-order batter, is to work hard and deliver in the domestic spectrum.

“Prithvi got a lot of chances and teams have now finally moved on, and it is a matter of embarrassment that he did not get a bid for Rs 75 lakh. Maybe now, he finally goes back to basics. Someone like Sarfaraz Khan got into the national team by scoring lots and lots of runs,” the former India cricketer asserted.

Shaw made his IPL debut in 2018 after being roped in by the Delhi Capitals. However, the 2025 season is set to see him miss out on the T20 league for the first time in his career. 

Delhi Capitals (DC) co-owner Parth Jindal stated that the franchise’s split with star India wicketkeeper-batter and marquee player Rishabh Pant was due to differences in “philosophies” regarding franchise management, and had nothing to do with financial issues. Pant became the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) purchased him for a staggering Rs 27 crore during the IPL mega auction held in Jeddah on Sunday.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo about Rishabh’s departure, Parth said, “It was just a different philosophy of how he wanted the franchise to operate and how we–the owners–wanted the franchise to operate. That is what caused it. It has nothing to do with money. Money has never been an issue for Rishabh, and money’s never been an issue for us. I guess the three of us (Kiran Grandhi, Jindal, and Pant) were on different wavelengths. He took a call at the end of it. We tried everything, but he decided eventually that it was time to move on.”

Parth admitted that the split had been “devastating” for him personally. “I love the boy like my own brother. He took a call at the end of the day. We tried our best. He made the decision, and we have to respect it,” he added.

Parth clarified that leadership was not a contentious issue leading to Pant’s departure, though the wicketkeeper-batter has aspirations of captaining India someday.

“We gave him some feedback regarding leadership. We suggested ways he could improve, but we were quite clear about his ambitions. We know where he wants to go. He has made it amply clear that his dream and desire is to captain India, and that starts with captaining an IPL team,” he concluded.

The dynamic wicketkeeper-batter is an all-format player for India and a livewire on the field. Known for his ability to deliver on big occasions in Test cricket, Pant has an equally solid T20 game. Though his T20I statistics show 1,209 runs in 76 matches at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of nearly 128, his overall T20 numbers are far more impressive, with 5,022 runs in 202 matches at an average of 31.78, a strike rate exceeding 145, including two centuries and 25 fifties.

Pant has been a vital part of the Delhi Capitals since 2016, scoring 3,284 runs in 110 matches at an average of 35.31, with a century and 18 fifties. He was appointed team captain in 2021 and led DC to the playoffs that same season.

Vijay Shankar bats against Hardik Pandya.© X/Twitter

Indian Premier League’s annual money-spinning gala – the player auction – is mostly about following the price tags. File

For the franchises, it’s about struggling to come up with the most suitable combination in quest of the glittering trophy.

But for a majority of the fans, the Indian Premier League’s annual money-spinning gala – the player auction – is mostly about following the price tags.

While the debate over the most balanced squad will continue till the IPL 2025 starts next year, the anticipation of the auction being the grandest in terms of price tags came true over the two days at the Abadi Al Johar Arena.

It wasn’t only about Rishabh Pant (₹27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (₹26.75 crore) fetching the two highest bids ever but even the number of successful ₹10 crore-plus bids have nearly doubled from the last auction.

In Jeddah, a whopping 21 players fetched a price equal to or higher than ₹10 crore. During the last big auction in 2022 in Bengaluru, the number was 11.

The fact that the auction purse went up from ₹90 crore to ₹120 crore from 2022 to 2025 played a role. But the bids going through the roof also signified that the demands made by certain cricketers before entering the auction were not unjust.

It is understood that the player pool became the most high-profile this time around due to certain franchises feeling a few players were demanding an amount that was way above their market price. But once the players threw their hat into the auction ring, the values just soared higher than anticipated.

“The purse overall, when you include the match fees that have come in, has gone up by over 33 per cent. That’s a massive jump in the overall salaries to players across the board, so it’s amazing for Indian cricket,” said Jake Lush McCrum, the Rajasthan Royals chief executive.

Huge potential

“It’s amazing for the future generations seeing this potential and, of course, the price is gonna rise when the overall purses rise. I don’t think there is a surprise in terms of the overall growth in high-value players.

“Whether we were expecting a 25 crore-plus player, it was significant, but you understand when it’s a captain as well and such an experienced Indian player, you get what franchises are willing to spend that much because of the scarcity.”

Having said all that, a player’s worth doesn’t necessarily reflect his value at the auction table. It’s time for the fans to turn their attention towards analysing the squads rather than only focus on price tags!

IPL 2025: Rishabh Pant with Parth Jindal© X/Twitter