With a winning bid of Rs 27 crore from the Lucknow Super Giants, revived generational talent Rishabh Pant overtook Shreyas Iyer as the most expensive acquisition in IPL history. Venkatesh Iyer was the unexpected show-stopper as teams, as anticipated, shelled out a fortune for top Indian players at the mega auction held here on Sunday.

Following disagreements with their respective teams, Shreyas, who led the Kolkata Knight Riders to victory earlier this year, and Pant, the legendary player for the Delhi Capitals, benefited from being put up for auction.


Venkatesh was a member of Shreyas' winning KKR team as well, and after failing to retain him, the team had to pay an incredible Rs 23.75 crore to bring him back via the Right to Match card.
However, with cash-heavy Punjab Kings spending Rs 26.75 crore for their prospective captain, Shreyas was the first player to surpass Mitchell Starc as the most expensive acquisition in the IPL. Pant then passed the fellow Indian by luring an additional Rs 25 lakh from LSG.

Shreyas and Pant, former DC teammates, have faced hardship in recent years, but they have shown incredible fortitude and bravery in overcoming it.


After a near-fatal car accident in 2022, Pant overcame all obstacles to successfully return to international cricket, and Shreyas overcame his exclusion from the BCCI central contracts list to help KKR win their third IPL trophy earlier this year.

The Delhi Capitals made a purchase using Right To Match.