IPL 2025 Auction: "There Will Be Interest, But.." - Sanjay Manjrekar Prediction For Mohammed Shami at Mega Auction

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar predicts Mohammed Shami's chances at the upcoming IPL Mega Auction 2025 as the Indian pacer enters the auction at the base price of Rs 2 Crore.

Shami, who recently made a return to competitive cricket after a long injury lay-off, was not retained by Gujarat Titans ahead of the big auction, scheduled to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.

As one of the premier pace options, Shami, who is part of the marquee set two, is expected to be high up the wish-list of all the ten teams, including his former teams GT and Punjab Kings.

However, Manjrekar felt the franchises will be concerned about a potential breakdown during the season as the former cricketer opened up on top India seamer Shami's recent injury issues and their impact on the IPL 2025 Auction.

Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar said that there will be interest from the IPL franchises, however, they will be worried about Shami's injury since they don't want to lose the star seamer in the mid-season.

"There will definitely be interest from teams, but given Shami's injury history - and this recent one took a significant amount of time to recover - there's always a concern about a potential breakdown during the season," Majrekar said.

"If a franchise invests heavily and then loses him mid-season, their options become limited. This concern might lead to a drop in his price tag," Manjrekar added that the injury concerns may bring down his price a bit during the bidding process.

Shami made a brilliant return to competitive cricket after a year-long injury layoff, taking seven wickets in Bengal's thrilling 11-run win over Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy match last week.

Shami's return to domestic cricket marks an important step in his comeback journey. The pacer was also added to the Bengal squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.

The 34-year-old had been in sensational form during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, finishing as the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.70, including three five-wicket hauls.

His best performance came against New Zealand in the semi-final, where he claimed 7/57. However, after India's heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final in November 2023, Shami was forced to watch a lot of action, including Team India's T20 World Cup triumph, from the sidelines due to injury.

In his last IPL stint in 2023, Shami picked up 28 wickets from 17 innings at an economy rate of 8.04 and won the purple cap after becoming the highest wicket-taker of the season.

Having been bought for Rs 6.25 Crore in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, Shami claimed 20 wickets in 16 matches, playing a key role in helping Gujarat Titans win the IPL in their debut season.