Rishabh Pant vs Shreyas Iyer: Who has been bought at a higher price in IPL 2025 Auction?
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer were part of the first marquee set at the IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Both star players had listed the highest reserve price of ₹2 crore. The dynamic keeper-batter Pant was purchased at the IPL 2025 mega auction for a record ₹27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Aggressive right-handed batter Iyer was sold to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a whopping ₹26.75 crore.
The bidding for Pant went up to ₹20.75 crore after which Delhi Capitals (DC) used the Right To Match (RTM) option. However, LSG hiked their bid to ₹27 crore after which DC backed out. Pant and Iyer thus become the two most expensive players in the history of the IPL.
Pant had led Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024, making a commendable comeback to competitive cricket after recovering from injuries he suffered in a horrific car crash in December 2022. The left-handed batter scored 446 runs in 13 matches in IPL 2024, averaging 40.55 at an impressive strike rate of 155.40. The 27-year-old struck three half-centuries with a best of 88*.
As for Iyer, he was the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) IPL 2024-winning squad. The 29-year-old was impressive as a skipper but had a mixed season with the bat. The right-handed batter scored 351 runs in 14 matches at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 146.86, with two fifties and a best of 58*. Despite KKR winning the IPL under him, the franchise released him.
Iyer has been in excellent form in domestic cricket recently. He clobbered 130* off 57 balls for Mumbai against Goa in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Hyderabad just a day ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. The blazing knock featured 11 fours and 10 sixes. Before that, he struck 233 off 228 balls in the Ranji Trophy clash against Odisha, hitting 24 fours and nine sixes.
On the other hand, Pant is in Australia for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series. The southpaw scored 37 in the first innings of the ongoing Perth Test and was stumped for one in the second. The keeper-batter was the leading run-getter in the three-match Test series against New Zealand at home, scoring 261 runs in six innings at an average of 43.50.
Rishabh Pant vs Shreyas Iyer: IPL stats
Pant has played 111 matches in the IPL, scoring 3,284 runs at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 148.93, with one hundred and 18 fifties. The left-hander has a highest score of 128* in the T20 league.
Iyer has featured in 115 IPL games, scoring 3,127 runs at an average of 32.24 and a strike rate of 127.48, with 21 half-centuries. He has a highest score of 96.