Jeddah: Bhuvneshwar Kumar starred in the capped bowlers list on the second day of the IPL 2025 Auction as he was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 10.75 crore here at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah on Monday.
The bidding for the pacer began at his base price of Rs 2 crore and after an intense bidding war between MI and LSG, it seemed as though Mumbai were about to secure his services at Rs 10.50 crore but RCB entered the fray and snatched his services at Rs 10.75 crore.
Bhuvneshwar began his IPL journey in 2009 with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (then Bangalore) but didn’t play in his first two seasons before moving to the now-defunct Pune Warriors. After three seasons with the side, he secured a move to Sunrisers Hyderabad where he went on to represent the team for a decade and became the side’s all-time leading wicket-taker. He has played 176 matches and has 181 scalps to his name in the league.
Mumbai Indians solidified an already fiery bowling attack, having retained Jasprit Bumrah and bought Trent Boult on Day 1, with the acquisition of Deepak Chahar for Rs 9.25 crore. The 32-year-old has played 81 games and claimed 77 wickets to his name. He entered the auction at a base price of Rs 2 crore and despite CSK’s best attempts to buy him once again, MI prevailed in the bidding war.
In another move, Akash Deep, the former RCB fast bowler, was sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 8 crore. He was highly sought after as PBKS, CSK and LSG tussled for his services, which started at a base price of Rs 1 crore before LSG prevailed on the bidding table.
Tushar Deshpande was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 6.50 crore. The pacer, who represented the Chennai Super Kings in the previous two seasons, has played 36 games and taken 42 wickets in the league so far. CSK and RR engaged in an intense bidding war for Deshpande, starting at a base price of Rs 1 crore and quickly escalating past Rs 6 crore. Both teams fiercely competed for his services but the Royals prevailed with a bid of Rs 6.50 crore.
Delhi Capitals exercised their Right to Match (RTM) option and retained the services of Mukesh Kumar for Rs 8 crore who has represented the team for the past two seasons. Punjab Kings had originally won the bidding war for the 31-year-old but DC had the final say to bring him on board.
South African pacer Gerald Coetzee, who represented the Mumbai Indians in the 2024 season, was sold to the Gujarat Titans for Rs 2.40 crore. The Proteas pacer played ten games in his debut season in the tournament and scalped 13 wickets. His base price of Rs 1.25 crore was met by GT and following a slight bidding war with PBKS, the latter backed out of the race.
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was sold to Punjab Kings at his base price of Rs 2 crore. His former team RCB had RTM available for the 33-year-old but opted not to use it.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians acquired the services of Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar for Rs 4.80 crore in the capped spinners set.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Adil Rashid, Akeal Hosein and Keshav Maharaj remain unsold in the set.
