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The tug of war over Jofra Archer’s involvement in next year’s IPL ended with him being bought by Rajasthan Royals for £1.2 million in an auction of unprecedented excess that saw India’s Rishabh Pant bought for a record figure of almost £2.52 million.
The auction for the 2025 season – known as the mega-auction because teams can retain a maximum of six players, leading to high player turnover – will take place Sunday and Monday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia .
Archer was one of five England players to secure an opening day deal, and more will go under the hammer on Monday. It continues an uncertain period of back-and-forth between England, with whom Archer has one year remaining on his central contract, and the IPL over whether he will play in the tournament.
Archer was a late entrant to the auction on Friday, having not initially been listed. Archer was prepared to miss this season to prioritize his long-awaited return to Test cricket – a format he has not played since early 2021 – but new IPL rules meant that if he skipped 2025 he would be banned from the 2026 and 2027 editions, too. So, through gritted teeth, England allowed him in, knowing they could hardly deny him the huge financial opportunity that comes with two IPLs in a short career.
Archer has previously played for Rajasthan and Mumbai Indians. The two franchises entered into a bidding war for him, with the Royals winning, snapping him up for INR 12.5 crores. England will still have a veto over his involvement in the spring if they believe he is injured after the Champions Trophy, which is due to take place in Pakistan in February and March. Archer has enjoyed six months of good fitness with England, from the T20 World Cup to the recent white-ball tour of the Caribbean.
Archer’s high price was emblematic of a hard-hitting auction. After seven seasons with the Royals, England captain Jos Buttler was signed by the Gujarat Titans for £1.5 million (INR 15.75 crore). The Ahmedabad-based Titans are owned by private equity firm CVC Capitals and have Englishman Vikram Solanki as their director of cricket.
England’s Liam Livingstone was brought in by Royal Challengers Bangalore for £826,000 (8.75 crores), while Harry Brook was picked up for £590,000 (6.25 crores). Phil Salt will join Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹1.09 million (11.5 crore). Jonny Bairstow was initially unsold, but will hope to be picked up on day two, alongside a host of other England players.
Soon after Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer was bought by Punjab Kings for a record fee of INR 26.75 crore (£2.5 million), Lucknow Super Giants spent 27 crore on Pant. Iyer had captained Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title this year, but was released, leading to a hard-hitting bidding war, only for Pant, the brilliant wicketkeeper-batsman, to surpass that figure.
There were also huge deals for Indian bowlers Arshdeep Singh (Punjab), Mohammed Siraj (Gujarat) and Mohammed Shami (Sunrisers Hyderabad), as well as all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (KKR), who had a disappointing spell with the Lancashire this season.
The record for highest bid was previously held by Mitchell Starc, who saw his value drop significantly when he was snapped up by the Delhi Capitals, but his Australian teammate Josh Hazlewood enjoyed a big payday at RCB , just like the New Zealander. Trent Boult for Mumbai Indians.
