Ranking the top 5 best buys from the marquee sets of IPL 2025 Auction ft. KL Rahul
The first two sets of players at the IPL auction saw the ten franchises spend big bucks, with Rishabh Pant becoming the costliest player in the history of the league. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter was sold to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping INR 27 crore.
With 12 marquee players going under the hammer in Set 1 and Set 2, Pant was the costliest buy, while Liam Livingstone to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was the cheapest deal at INR 8.75 crore. On that note, let’s look at five best buys of the Marquee sets of the IPL 2025 auction:
#5 KL Rahul
India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul was roped in by the Delhi Capitals (DC) for INR 14 crore at the auction. Previously with the Lucknow Super Giants as the team’s skipper, the franchise opted not to use their Right to Match (RTM) card.
While Rahul’s retention with LSG looked doubtful, a picture of him with the team owner Sanjiv Goenka surfaced online which put the fans and followers in doubt. But the air was cleared at the auction arena as LSG let Rahul exit the team.
DC purchasing Rahul at INR 14 crore can be dubbed a steal deal, given what the player can do on his given day. The Capitals will not regret spending the amount on Rahul and have also gotten themselves a captain for the upcoming edition, with Pant’s exit.
#4 David Miller
South African all-rounder David Miller, who represented Gujarat Titans in the previous three editions of the tournament, was bagged by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 10.75 crore.
With LSG already having Nicholas Pooran in their ranks, they’ve strengthened their middle order with Miller’s addition. The explosive batter has been very impactful in the shortest format of the game and in IPL, having helped GT win the title in 2022.
Miller has 2924 runs from 130 IPL matches at an average of 36.55 and a strike rate of 139.24. In the 2022 edition, which was GT’s maiden IPL outing, he scored 481 runs at an average of 68.71.
#3 Mohammed Siraj
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Mohammed Siraj was bought by Gujarat Titans, who spent INR 12.25 crore to get the Indian pacer to their side. The 2022 champions had Mohammed Shami on their side in the previous editions, but he was sold to SunRisers Hyderabad at the mega auction.
Siraj was a part of the Indian T20 World Cup 2024 winning squad and has been a crucial cog for the Men in Blue across all formats. Having emerged as one of India’s top bowlers, Siraj is known for his accuracy and pace.
At the Indian Premier League, Siraj has 93 wickets to his name from as many matches, with a career-best spell of 4/21 in the tournament.
#2 Liam Livingstone
An explosive middle-order batter and a magnificent spinner, English all-rounder Liam Livingstone was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 8.75 crore. While one might call this a steal deal, Livingstone’s addition to RCB would also have raised their fans’ hopes.
RCB retained only three players ahead of the auction, reserving a whopping INR 21 crore for Virat Kohli, followed by Rajat Patidar at INR 11 crore and Yash Dayal at INR 5 crore. With three RTM cards remaining, the Bengaluru-based franchise still have a lot to do at the auction.
Livingstone, who represented Punjab Kings till the 2024 edition, put up some noteworthy and remarkable performances for the franchise, proving his worth both with the bat and ball.
#1 Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh tops the list, being one of the finest buys from the marquee sets of players. While SRH topped the bidding war, PBKS stole the deal using the RTM card. SRH had raised the price to INR 18 crore, which PBKS readily matched.
Arshdeep was a crucial cog in India’s playing XI in the T20 World Cup 2024 summit clash against South Africa. He registered figures of 2/21 in his four-over spell, playing a key role in India’s win.
He is one of the finest pacers in the Indian squad as well as the Punjab Kings squad. Having won them several matches, the tall pacer being brought back by PBKS has been one of the most clever moves at the auction so far.