Who’ll be the most expensive player at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction? Most would bet on one of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, or Shreyas Iyer. It makes sense as well. Three famous Indian batters, all of whom are captaincy-worthy. But, weirdly enough, Jos Buttler might end up as the most pick instead of them all.
Jos Buttler, best T20 batter in the world?
The England skipper has played more T20 matches than Rahul and Pant have combined in their careers. He’s a franchise legend, scoring heaps of runs all over the world. Buttler‘s the seventh-highest scorer in the shortest format’s history, and given the trajectory, he could end up as the most prolific scorer in T20s.
He scores runs for fun. Despite playing 145 fewer matches in IPL than Virat Kohli, he’s got just one less hundred than the record holder (7 to 8). If someone makes the greatest T20 team, Buttler would definitely open alongside Chris Gayle. Although he doesn’t use it often, he’s got 360-degree range and has probably got the best scoop in the game.
If compared with the three Indian superstar batters, Buttler’s the best batter, with only Pant actually coming close to him. He’s got more IPL hundreds than the three combined, despite playing fewer matches than them. He’s got an international captaincy record of 25-18 and has led England to the 2022 T20 World Cup title.
Buttler, Pant, Rahul & Shreyas: IPL stats comparison
| Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jos Buttler | 107 | 3582 | 38.10 | 147.52 | 7 | 19 |
| Rishabh Pant | 111 | 3284 | 35.31 | 148.93 | 1 | 18 |
| KL Rahul | 132 | 4683 | 45.46 | 134.60 | 4 | 37 |
| Shreyas Iyer | 116 | 3127 | 32.23 | 127.47 | 0 | 21 |
Sanju Samson and Ajinkya Rahane have scored more runs than Buttler for the Rajasthan Royals, but there is no doubt that he’s better than both. The English averages better and strikes faster than them both. He’s just 44 shy of going past Rahane’s run tally of 3098 and scores 10 more runs per game than Samson.
Why Buttler can go big at the IPL 2025 auction
But statistics don’t often decide your price at the IPL auction. Neither Mitchell Starc nor Pat Cummins wouldn’t have gotten over Rs 20 crore last year otherwise. Pant, Rahul, and Shreyas being Indian stars works massively for them. But there is a budget constraint as well.
Buttler’s placed with Shreyas and Pant in the set of marquee players. Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, and Starc are the other players in the first set. What might end up happening is that bidding wars may see Arshdeep, Pant, and Shreyas get sold big, and when the franchises don’t have big names left to big, they hunt for someone like Buttler, who’s the best opener in the game, is an international captain and a wicketkeeper, a proper three-dimensional player.
You might think, What about Rahul? A lot of franchises would be drained of cash by the time the second marquee set arrives. The bidding wars may not top the previous set, and those up front will likely end up the biggest winners in terms of money.
Most expensive player in each edition of the IPL
| Player | Edition | Franchise | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS Dhoni | 2008 | Chennai Super Kings | $1.5 million |
| Andrew Flintoff & Kevin Pietersen | 2009 | Chennai Super Kings & Royal Challengers Bangalore | $1.55 million |
| Shane Bond & Kieron Pollard | 2010 | Kolkata Knight Riders & Mumbai Indians | $750,000 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 2011 | Kolkata Knight Riders | $2.4 million |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 2012 | Chennai Super Kings | $2 million |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2013 | Mumbai Indians | $1 million |
| Yuvraj Singh | 2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹14 crore |
| Yuvraj Singh | 2015 | Delhi Daredevils* | ₹ 16 crore |
| Shane Watson | 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹9.5 crore |
| Ben Stokes | 2017 | Rising Pune Supergiant | ₹14.5 crore |
| Ben Stokes | 2018 | Rajasthan Royals | ₹12.5 crore |
| Varun Chakravarthy & Jaydev Unadkat | 2019 | Kings XI Punjab & Rajasthan Royals | ₹8.4 crore |
| Pat Cummins | 2020 | Kolkata Knight Riders | ₹15.5 crore |
| Chris Morris | 2021 | Rajasthan Royals | ₹16.25 crore |
| Ishan Kishan | 2022 | Mumbai Indians | ₹15.25 crore |
| Sam Curran | 2023 | Punjab Kings | ₹18.5 crore |
| Mitchell Starc | 2024 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 24.75 crore |
| Jos Buttler* | 2025 | ? | ? |
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