IPL 2025: Who will get Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in the Auction?

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So, the mysterious tweet put out by Rishabh Pant almost 12 days ago was not a prank. He had hinted, rather asked if he would "be bought" in the auction, and reactions/replies to it were perverse.

One reply had even asked if Pant had tweeted in a sober state. That was simply not needed. Going through all the stories on IPL retentions for the 2025 season, one thing is clear, stories are source-based and nothing is on record. Nothing wrong with that, since franchise owners or people involved with the think-tank themselves seem fine with 'kite flying' and news being speculative.

Since it first began with Pant, a few points to ponder. When he became captain of the Delhi Capitals a few seasons ago, it was a heist of sorts, since that job was supposed to got to Shreyas Iyer. Shreyas was injured and Pant got the job. Everyone knows what happened to Pant in December 2022 when he met with a car accident. His survival and recovery will both go down in cricketing history as medical marvel.

In the 2024 IPL season, Rishabh Pant came and proved all wrong. Even those who had been with the DC franchise in the past doubted if he could bat and 'keep' wickets as his return seemed premature after the knee surgery. For a man who has loved proving everyone wrong, Rishabh Pant did everything well to merit an inclusion in the Indian team as well for the ICC T20 World Cup. There has been no looking back, even though he sustained an injury in the Bengaluru Test recently. On Wednesday, coach Gautam Gambhir stressed Pant would bat and be wicket-keeper in the second Test, starting Thursday.

Back to Pant and which direction he is headed in the IPL, nobody knows, really. Even Pant would not know what is happening. The certainty is Pant is a marquee player and will go for a big sum in the IPL auction, to be held in Saudi Arabia. To be sure, the forthcoming auction will be as thrilling as an IPL night match. The certainty in retentions are with Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and to a large extent with Chennai Super Kings. Pant can go anywhere honestly.

If you glance through his IPL record and say that he was not a great captain, nobody will mind it. The Delhi side has had problems with best buys and striking the right combination. Ricky Ponting is gone and Dada Sourav Ganguly has nothing to do with the side. So, Pant also not being with DC makes no difference. For all those who think a city-based franchise league means there has to be a local flavour, a reality check is needed. No, the marquee players in IPL teams have nothing to do with which state they represent in first-class cricket.

There have been rumours, that Royal Challengers Bangalore would like to go for Pant. There are also rumours KL Rahul, who is done with Lucknow Super Giants, will also get a look-in from RCB as he is from Bengaluru. All this is interesting reading, really. Nothing is official and when the team owners go to the auction table, players are valued, based on what they have shown in terms of results. KL Rahul, from Punjab to Lucknow has been disappointing. Even in the Indian Test team, he is getting repeated chances as coach Gambhir feels he is valuable. IPL auction dynamics are different.

Last but not the least, will not the winning captain of IPL 2024, who led KKR to the title, Shreyas Iyer command a huge price. Shreyas has batted well in the Ranji season as well, and shown that he is not loathe to perform despite the BCCI central contract snub. Sample this, Gambhir left KKR and became India coach and now Shreyas will be in the auction pool if rumour mills are to be believed. By October 31, it will all become clear, who all are being retained. Till then, it is like a washing machine in high RPM mode. Every player is being cleaned up. Who will shine after the retention and auction, wait and watch!