Aakash Chopra has noted that the overseas players’ prices got course-corrected in the IPL 2025 auction. Aakash Chopra noted that none of the foreign players earned an exorbitant sum at the mega-auction. The Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction was always expected to be a grand spectacle.
IPL Auction 2025 in brief
Australian pace legend Mitchell Starc will don Delhi Capitals’ colors, acquired for ₹11.75 crore, while South African speedster Kagiso Rabada was picked up by Gujarat Titans for ₹10.75 crore. Adding firepower to their lineup, Gujarat Titans secured England’s Jos Buttler for ₹15.75 crore, marking the end of his tenure with Rajasthan Royals. Another former Rajasthan Royals player, Liam Livingstone, landed a ₹8.75 crore contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
On day 2, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 10.75 crore. Interestingly, Bhuvi had started his IPL journey with RCB back in 2019. In addition to this, Bihar’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest crorepati at the auction. Suryavanshi, the teenage prodigy, who made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was picked by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.10 crore.
In a surprise, Mumbai’s Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur found no takers at the auction while veteran Ajinkya Rahane, who had gone unsold earlier in the day, returned late and was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 1.50 crore. New Zealand stars Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips were also among the unsold players on Day 2. Former RCB skipper Faf du Plessis became the biggest bargain buy for Delhi Capitals at a base price of Rs two crore while Gujarat Titans were smart to lap up India all-rounder Washington Sundar for Rs 3.20 crore.
Englishman Sam Curran, who had once attracted a Rs 18 crore bid, only had a couple of takers with CSK bringing him back home at Rs 2.40 crore. Hardik Pandya’s brother Krunal Pandya got a Rs 5.75 crore deal from RCB who needed an experienced spin bowling all-rounder.395 players remained unsold at the mega auction.
The teams not just acquired fresh talent but strateged around the auction dynamics. While most teams retained up to six players before the auction, the introduction of impact substitutes influenced bidding strategies, adding a new layer of complexity to team-building.
The IPL 2025 Mega Auction has already set the stage for an electrifying season.
Following the IPL Auction keenly, Former cricketer now commentator Aakash Chopra expressed his views on overseas players going low in IPL 2025.
Aakash Chopra says overseas players’ price got course-corrected in IPL 2025 auction
Aakash Chopra has noted that the overseas players’ prices got course-corrected in the IPL 2025 auction. He noted that none of the foreign players earned an exorbitant sum at the mega-auction.
The IPL auction was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. Jos Buttler (₹15.75 crore) was the only overseas player to be bought for more than ₹12.50 crore.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, the former India opener pointed out that the IPL’s new rules ensured that overseas players made themselves available at the mega-auction and were sold as per their worth.
“IPL said they wanted to do a course correction. They said that if you don’t register in the big auction, say tata bye-bye to the IPL for the next two years. When all overseas players registered, there was a course correction. The most expensive overseas player sold was Jos Buttler for ₹15.75 crore, which is a fair price. Apart from him, you will find that all overseas players had a reduction,” Aakash Chopra said
“Jake Fraser-McGurk didn’t have a reduction but he too wasn’t sold for ₹15 crore. If you see overseas bowlers – Jofra Archer, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Trent Boult – they are all expensive, but no one went for 18 or 20 crores. Even if you see overseas batters, no one got extra money. Your true price is paid in a big auction. No more 25 crores for anybody,” Aakash Chopra added.
Other than Buttler, Trent Boult, Josh Hazlewood and Jofra Archer, who were bought for ₹12.50 crore apiece, were the most expensive overseas players at the auction. Mitchell Starc, who was bought for ₹24.75 crore at the IPL 2024 auction, was purchased for ₹11.75 crore this time around.