IPL auction: Rishabh Pant sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore, costliest in history

As the mega Indian Premier League (IPL) auction kicked off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 24, Rishabh Pant made history by becoming the costliest player ever in IPL auction history. The wicketkeeper-batsman was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a staggering Rs 27 crore.

Pant broke Shreyas Iyer's record who earlier today broke Mitchell Starc's record (Rs 24.75 crore) when Punjab Kings outbid other teams after a fierce bidding war in the sale of the first set of marquee players.

The record lasted only a few minutes as Rishabh Pant witnessed a historic bidding war.

Delhi Capitals used the Right To Match card for Rishabh Pant when the bid was with Lucknow at Rs 20.75 crore. After all the speculation of a bad break-up between Pant and Delhi, it was expected that Delhi would not enter the race. However, they went for it and used the RTM card.

Lucknow Super Giants and its owner Sanjeev Goenka were in no mood to let Rishabh Pant go as they raised the bid to Rs 27 crore.

Rishabh Pant is likely to replace KL Rahul as the captain of LSG in IPL 2025.

Rishabh Pant was expected to be retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the deadline day -- October 31. However, Pant's post on X, formerly Twitter, sparked speculation about his exit from the franchise that gave him his first opportunity after the U19 World Cup in 2016.