Which player will fetch the highest price at this year's IPL auction? former Indian cricketer makes prediction

MUMBAI: Only a few more days are left for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. The auction will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25. As of now, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who was acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs 24.75 crore in the 2024 season, is the most expensive player in IPL history. However, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has predicted that this year, teams may acquire an Indian player by paying an even larger amount.

According to Irfan Pathan, while star players like Jos Buttler, Arshdeep Singh, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer could fetch huge sums in the auction, Indian wicket-keeper batsman and former Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant will fetch more money than Starc.

“Mitchell Starc’s auction record is in danger. Rishabh Pant is ready to break it,” Irfan Pathan wrote on his X page.

27-year-old Rishabh Pant has only played for Delhi Capitals ever since he made his IPL debut. The left-handed star batter has scored 3284 runs at a strike rate of 148 in 111 matches. His highest score in the IPL is 128 not out. He also has 75 catches and 23 stumpings to his name. However, many people were surprised by the Delhi Capitals' decision not to retain Rishabh Pant ahead of this year's IPL auction. Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar criticised Pant's decision to leave the franchise and went on to say that Pant left Delhi Capitals for money. However, Pant countered this by posting a note on X which read, 'My retention wasn't about the money for sure that I can say.'

In 2016, Delhi Capitals first acquired Rishabh Pant for Rs 1.9 crore in the auction. In 2018, the franchise retained Pant by paying 8 crore. This amount increased to Rs 16 crore in 2022.