Punjab Kings emerged the winners in signing their former captain Shreyas Iyer for a record-breaking price of Rs 26.75 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction on Sunday. The Capitals defeated the Delhi Capitals in the fierce bidding war for the signature of the star Indian cricketer in a two-day event in Jeddah.
Kolkata were the first team to bid for their former captain and was joined by Punjab Kings. Both teams were engaged in a heated battle for the star batter. Delhi Capitals joined the bidding war with a bid of Rs 7.50 crore with Punjab Kings backing out. However, the PBKS joined back with a Rs 12 crore bid with KKR giving up their bid.
Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals showed no sign of slowing down and stretched the bidding war to record-breaking numbers. Delhi finally gave up when the deal reached Rs 26.75 crore and Shreyas became the most expensive player in the IPL history.
The IPL 2024 title-winning captain was always tipped to attract a strong bidding war for his signature due to his recent sensational form in domestic cricket. After scoring two back-to-back centuries in the Ranji Trophy games, the Mumbai captain scored a quickfire hundred in the first match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy a day before the auction day
Shreyas guided Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last year but was surprisingly not retained on October 31. Shreyas is currently struggling to find the place in India's national teams but has been in good form across formats lately.
Shreyas Iyer in the IPL 2024
Shreyas Iyer missed the 2023 edition of the tournament due to a back injury but returned for the 2024 season as the team's captain. Shreyas struggled for consistency in the early stages of the tournament but was excellent with his calm leadership skills.
The right-handed batter scored 352 runs in 14 IPL 2024 innings at a strike rate of 146.86 with the help of two fifties. However, he remained unbeaten on five occasions to guide his team to their 3rd IPL title by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.
