Category: IPL

The 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi bagged a ₹1.10 crore contract with Rajasthan Royals on the second day of the mega auction in Jeddah on Monday (November 25, 2024). Suryavanshi, talked about as a prodigy, made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Rajasthan on Saturday and made a 6-ball 13 before falling to Deepak Chahar. IPL auction 2025 Day 2 LIVE updates Hailing from Samastipur, Suryavanshi debuted at just 12 years and 284 days against Mumbai, becoming the youngest player in the tournament’s history. This remarkable feat broke records held by cricketing legends like Yuvraj Singh, who debuted at 15 years and 57 days, and Sachin Tendulkar, who started at 15 years and 230 days. Suryavanshi further solidified his reputation during the Youth Test series against Australia in Chennai, where he smashed 104 runs off just 62 balls. At 13 years and 188 days, he became the youngest centurion in the 170-year history of competitive cricket and also set the record for the fastest century by an Indian at the youth level. His blistering century off 58 balls stands as the second fastest at this level, just behind England’s Moeen Ali, who achieved the feat in 56 balls. This remarkable feat broke records held by cricketing legends like Yuvraj Singh, who debuted at 15 years and 57 days, and Sachin Tendulkar, who started at 15 years and 230 days. The Mumbai troika of Shardul Thakur, Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane along with New Zealand stars Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips were among the unsold players.

The Right to Match (RTM) was introduced for the first time in 2018. The RTM rule will allow the franchises to bring back a player from their previous season to their squad. The RTM rule allows a franchise to retain a player they released by matching the highest bid for that player at the auction. The RTM card will allow teams that didn’t use their full quota of six player retentions ahead of the auction to retain some of the players from their previous squads. A team can use the RTM card to match the highest bid placed on a player who was part of its squad during the previous season. However, in this auction, the franchise that places the original bid will be allowed one more opportunity to raise the bid for the player after the RTM card is invoked. If the team with the RTM option decides to match that final bid, it will retain the player in question. If not, the original bidder will secure the player’s services while the RTM card will be restored for the team that loses out.

Day one of the Indian Premier League player auction witnessed some expensive buying and new records as Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant became the most expensive buy after Lucknow Super Giants bought him for massive ₹27 crore. Moments before Pant emerged as the most expensive player, Shreyas Iyer held the record for just 22 minutes after Punjab Kings bought him for ₹26.75 crores.Rishabh Pant becomes most expensive IPL buy at ₹27 crore, Iyer fetches ₹26.75 crore deal It means that the likes of Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran and Prithvi Shaw will be up for grabs at the start of Day Two. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the sequence in a communication to the franchises after Saturday night’s pre-auction briefing. It confirmed that the opening day will see the 12 12 sets being called, with one 30-minute break and two breaks of 15 minutes each during the proceedings. A total of 574 players have been selected from an original pool of 1,574 candidates. These players will be auctioned on November 24-25 in Jeddah. The roster comprises 208 international players, 12 uncapped international prospects, and 318 uncapped Indian players.  This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh. The 10 franchises will collectively have around ₹641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.

Rishabh Pant on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) rejected the legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s assessment that the India wicketkeeper-batter left Delhi Capitals due to disagreement over his retention fee ahead of the mega auction of the Indian Premier League. Pant, who captained Delhi Capitals last year after making a comeback from a horrific car accident, is among the marquee players who were not retained by their franchises. He is expected to be one of the most sought-after players when the auction takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25. “My retention wasn’t about the money for sure that I can say,” Pant wrote on X, responding to a broadcaster video showing Gavaskar talking about the auction dynamics. Gavaskar said while he expects Delhi Capitals to rope in Pant once again, he also wondered if there was a disagreement over the fee between the franchise and the player. “The auction dynamics are completely different; we don’t really know how it will go. But what I feel is that Delhi would certainly want Rishabh Pant back in the squad,” Gavaskar told Star Sports. “Sometimes, when a player is to be retained, there is talk between the franchise and the player and franchise about the fees that are expected.” “As you can see, some of the players who have been retained by the franchise, they’ve gone for more than say, what the No 1 retention fee deduction would be. Clearly I think, maybe there was some disagreement over there,” he said. Gavaskar said Delhi Capitals will have to look for a new captain as well if Pant is not there in the roster. “My feeling is that Delhi would definitely want Pant back because they need a captain as well. If Rishabh Pant is not in their squad then they have to look for a new captain. My feeling is (that) Delhi would definitely go for Rishabh Pant,” he said. Pant, along with other former captains Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders) and KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants), is listed at a base price of ₹2 crore each among marquee Indian players. Pant has always been a part of the Delhi franchise since his IPL debut in 2016, scoring 3,284 runs at 35.31 with one century and 18 fifties in 111 matches.

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.