Shreyas Iyer Bought By Punjab Kings For INR 26.75 crore at IPL Auction 2025

India star Shreyas Iyer will be one of the marquee players in the IPL 2025 mega auction. The former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper has registered himself for the auction at the base price of INR 2 crore.

Not many expected Kolkata Knight Riders to release their captain ahead of the mega auction. While the reigning IPL champions retained the full quota of six players, there was no place for Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai star led the Kolkata-based outfit to the title in 2024 but still parted ways with them.

Later, Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore explained the reason behind the franchise's decision to release their captain. Mysore said that while Shreyas Iyer was their first choice for the retentions, the batsman himself did not want to be retained. He stated that the franchise and Shreyas Iyer failed to reach an agreement.

"The interesting thing about retention is that there are so many aspects to it and forces as play. But what is fundamental to retention is that most people sometimes don’t understand that it’s a matter of mutually agreeing. It’s not a one-sided right that a franchise has. The player also has to consider various factors and agree," Mysore said in an interview with RevSportz.

"Sometimes along the line, that agreement doesn’t happen because of various factors; money or somebody wants to test their value or whatever it is. That influences a decision as well, eventually, but he was No.1 on our list," he added.

Shreyas Iyer was signed up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 mega auction. The three-time IPL champion had secured his services for INR 12.25 crore. The Indian batsman was also named the captain of the team.

In his first season with the Knight Riders, Shreyas Iyer played 14 games and scored 401 runs with the help of three half-centuries. He missed the 2023 season completely due to a back injury.

When he returned to action in 2024, the Knight Riders gave him the captaincy straightaway. Under his captaincy, the Knight Riders went on to win the title after a gap of ten years. He received praise from all around for his captaincy in IPL 2024. The right-handed batsman impressed with the bat as well, scoring 351 runs with the help of 2 fifties.

Before joining the Knight Riders, Iyer plied his trade for Delhi Capitals from 2015 to 2021. He made a big impact as a captain with Delhi Capitals as well. Under his captaincy, Delhi Capitals reached the IPL final for the first time in their history in 2020.

Overall, Iyer has played 116 games in the IPL so far. He has scored 3127 runs at an average of more than 32 and a strike rate of 127. He has also hit 21 half-centuries in the tournament. His best IPL season with the bat came in 2020 when he reached the 500-run mark in a season for the first and so far, only time. In that season, he had scored 519 runs.

Shreyas Iyer Bought By Punjab Kings For INR 26.75 crore at IPL Auction 2025:

Shreyas Iyer has become the most expensive player in the history of the IPL after being bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping amount of INR 26.75 crore. The record was previously held by Mitchell Starc who was bought for INR 24.75 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders in the last auction.

After leading Knight Riders to the title last season, Shreyas Iyer was very much expected to cause a bidding war. The Knight Riders made the first bid before Punjab Kings joined the race. The Knight Riders pulled out of the race at INR 7.25 crore.

Punjab and Delhi Capitals then went head-to-head for the player. With both the teams needing a new captain and desperate to change their fortunes, they decided to go big for the player. In the end, Punjab Kings secured Iyer's services.