The 33-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar stuck to his word, but when he eventually found out that he will be heading to the Chennai Super Kings, which pipped his former team Gujarat Titans with a bid of ₹1.2 crore, he was chuffed
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

On the eve of last weekend’s IPL mega auction in Jeddah, Vijay Shankar was asked whether he would be keeping an eye on the proceedings that will determine his future in the marquee T20 competition. “No, I won’t be watching. Nothing is in our control anyway,” was his quick response.

The 33-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder stuck to his word, but when he eventually found out that he will be heading to the Chennai Super Kings, which pipped his former team Gujarat Titans with a bid of ₹1.2 crore, he was chuffed. Apart from it being the franchise of his home State, it is also the franchise where he started his IPL journey, though he played just one game in 2014 when he was very much a rookie.

“I bowled one over for CSK in 2014. I didn’t bat. For me to have started my IPL career there and to go back to that team after 10 years is really special. It is a different feel altogether to play at Chepauk in the IPL. I have played there a few times when I was in the opposition,” Vijay told The Hindu. “There’s an aura that CSK has. The way they play cricket is different from other teams.”

After that lone appearance for the five-time IPL champion, he went on to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. He enjoyed some success with the Gujarat Titans particularly in 2023 — in 14 matches, he contributed 301 runs at 37.63 while striking at 160.11.

For the moment, he has his focus on doing well in Tamil Nadu’s domestic campaign. While he was left out of the team for the first two Ranji Trophy matches of the season, he has managed to make his experience count since making a comeback.

“It was very tough to sit out for two games. But you need to keep doing your best. That is the work ethic that has been instilled in me from my early days,” he said.

Indian Premier League’s annual money-spinning gala – the player auction – is mostly about following the price tags. File

For the franchises, it’s about struggling to come up with the most suitable combination in quest of the glittering trophy.

But for a majority of the fans, the Indian Premier League’s annual money-spinning gala – the player auction – is mostly about following the price tags.

While the debate over the most balanced squad will continue till the IPL 2025 starts next year, the anticipation of the auction being the grandest in terms of price tags came true over the two days at the Abadi Al Johar Arena.

It wasn’t only about Rishabh Pant (₹27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (₹26.75 crore) fetching the two highest bids ever but even the number of successful ₹10 crore-plus bids have nearly doubled from the last auction.

In Jeddah, a whopping 21 players fetched a price equal to or higher than ₹10 crore. During the last big auction in 2022 in Bengaluru, the number was 11.

The fact that the auction purse went up from ₹90 crore to ₹120 crore from 2022 to 2025 played a role. But the bids going through the roof also signified that the demands made by certain cricketers before entering the auction were not unjust.

It is understood that the player pool became the most high-profile this time around due to certain franchises feeling a few players were demanding an amount that was way above their market price. But once the players threw their hat into the auction ring, the values just soared higher than anticipated.

“The purse overall, when you include the match fees that have come in, has gone up by over 33 per cent. That’s a massive jump in the overall salaries to players across the board, so it’s amazing for Indian cricket,” said Jake Lush McCrum, the Rajasthan Royals chief executive.

Huge potential

“It’s amazing for the future generations seeing this potential and, of course, the price is gonna rise when the overall purses rise. I don’t think there is a surprise in terms of the overall growth in high-value players.

“Whether we were expecting a 25 crore-plus player, it was significant, but you understand when it’s a captain as well and such an experienced Indian player, you get what franchises are willing to spend that much because of the scarcity.”

Having said all that, a player’s worth doesn’t necessarily reflect his value at the auction table. It’s time for the fans to turn their attention towards analysing the squads rather than only focus on price tags!

Cricket’s commercial behemoth, the IPL, raised the bar once again, generating eye-popping bids for the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer besides providing the opportunity of a lifetime to first-timers including 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The mega auction’s venue, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also added to the growing global appeal of the league as 182 players were sold over the two-day event.

PTI looks at how the 10 teams stack up following a memorable auction.

Delhi Capitals: Delhi Capitals, who surprisingly let go of their marquee player Pant, bought 19 players in the auction after retaining four including Axar Patel, Jake Fraser McGurk, Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Porel.

At ₹14 crore, their most expensive buy was KL Rahul who will be expected to open the batting alongside Fraser McGurk.

There is no denying the class of Rahul but his strike rate has come under the scanner season after season. It remains to be seen if he ends up leading the franchise.

Their playing composition looks sorted but they don’t have a lot of proven back up players in the middle-order.

The fast bowling has been bolstered with the arrival of Mitchell Starc and T Natarajan while the front-line spinners include the retained Axar and Kuldeep.

Mumbai Indians: Having spent a majority of their purse on five retained players including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma, the five-time champions have their Indian core all figured out.

Considering Mumbai spent ₹75 crore for their retentions, they were relatively quiet on day one of the auction before going for established fast bowlers on the concluding day.

Their biggest buy was New Zealand veteran Trent Boult (₹12.5), followed by injury-prone Deepak Chahar (₹9.25 crore).

The team has brought in English batter Will Jacks to offset Tim David’s departure. Following Ishan Kishan’s departure, the franchise doesn’t have a proven force to open alongside Rohit Sharma.

South African Ryan Rickelton is set to open the batting alongside the World Cup winning skipper.

Lucknow Super Giants: LSG purchased 19 players in the auction after retaining five including Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni.

They were the ones who made a record bid of ₹27 crore for Rishabh Pant who is set to captain the franchise.

Pant was by far their costliest buy with Avesh Khan (₹9.75 crore) and Akash Deep (₹8 crore) a distant second and third respectively. The likely opening pairing of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram is not the strongest in the competition, putting more responsibility on Pant and Pooran.

The fitness of their retained pacers Mohsin and Mayank over the course of 14 games also poses questions.

Rajasthan Royals: Royals were not the busiest team at the auction, having bought 14 players to go with its six retentions, the joint highest alongside KKR.

The retained players included five batters and only one bowler in Sandeep Sharma, therefore it wasn’t a surprise they tried to shore up that department.

Their most expensive buy at the auction — Jofra Archer at ₹12.5 crore — was a questionable one with perennial questions surrounding his fitness.

Royals would be hoping that he lives up to the potential come IPL 2025.

They let go of their star Indian spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, leaving a huge void, which is now expected to be filled by Sri Lankans Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga. Like Archer, even Hasaranga is injury-prone.

Also under the spotlight would be Suryavanshi, the 13-year-old batter from Bihar. He might not start the tournament but could get an opportunity down the line. He made his first-class debut at the age of 12, a testament to his rare talent.

Punjab Kings: Having retained just two uncapped players, Punjab Kings expectedly went on a shopping spree and ended up buying 23 players to hit the upper limit of squad size. The biggest buy was IPL-winning captain Shreyas Iyer at ₹26.75 crore and in all likelihood, he will lead the side.

Having under-performed consistently since IPL’s inception, Punjab are banking on new head coach Ricky Ponting for a much awaited change in fortunes.

Besides Arshdeep Singh, they don’t have an established Indian fast bowler, leaving a lot for New Zealander Lockie Ferguson and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen.

Spin duties will be shared by Chahal and Harpreet Brar. Young Delhi batter Priyansh Arya also fetched a life changing contract from Punjab Kings and would be desperate for an opportunity.

Kolkata Knight Riders: KKR bought 15 players at the auction and their most debatable purchase was Venkatesh Iyer at a whopping ₹23.75 crore.

The team benefitted from his ultra aggressive approach with the bat last season when it captured its third title.

KKR retained majority of the performers last season but will be interesting to see who captains the side following Iyer’s improbable exit. Venkatesh could be a potential captain if KKR decide to name an Indian leader.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Like KKR, SRH also impressed with their approach in the previous edition and ended up retaining their core including Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Nitish Reddy and Heinrich Klaasen.

The Cummins led side was able to get the players they wanted at a good price and they included Ishan Kishan (₹11.25 crore), Mohammed Shami (₹10 crore), Harshal Patel (₹8 crore) and Adam Zampa (₹2.40 crore).

They also have decent back up for Indian pacers and Rahul Chahar is another effective leg-spin option alongside Zampa.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: RCB retained three players — Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal and Rajat Patidar — leaving them with a lot to do at the auction. They did not have a very productive opening day but caught up on day two. Fast bowling has been the weaker link for RCB over the years and they have tried to fix that with signing of Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The heavy English flavour to the squad is provided by Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell and Phillp Salt. Their superstar, Kohli, could be seen captaining the unit once again as RCB chase the elusive crown.

Gujarat Titans: After retaining five players, Gujarat bought 20 players to reach the maximum squad limit. The buying featured plenty of fast bowlers including Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Prasidh Krishna.

Jos Buttler was one headline buy and he is expected to open alongside skipper Shubman Gill.

The middle-order doesn’t posses the firepower possessed by other teams, putting the onus on retained Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan.

Chennai Super Kings: CSK are known for their value buys at the auction and tend to go after the players they were unable to retain. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to see Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra being bought back for ₹6.25 crore and ₹4 crore respectively. The other bargain buys included Sam Curran (₹2.40 crore) and Rahul Tripathi (₹3.40 crore).

R Ashwin’s return to CSK attracted most attention as he went for ₹9.75 crore.