The highly anticipated IPL 2025 mega auctions are set to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24-25. A total of 1574 players, including 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players, and 30 players from Associate Nations, will be up for grabs.
Among the marquee players available in the auction are Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Mohammed Siraj. Rahul, who captained Lucknow Super Giants since 2022, was released by the franchise ahead of the auctions.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) should target Rahul as a potential successor to MS Dhoni. CSK has retained Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, and Matheesha Pathirana, but Dhoni has been retained as an uncapped player.
“What all do they need? I feel they need a successor to Dhoni, a wicketkeeper-batter and it’s great if they get an Indian. Everyone is saying, let me also say – he is more than 30 years old, is going to be a father very soon and everyone has written him off as well, so he is right for Chennai, that’s KL Rahul. So they will definitely go for KL Rahul,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“We can’t say for how long they will go but they will try to acquire him because the franchise still has Rs 55 crore to be spent. So if they can get an Indian like him, Ishan Kishan or Rishabh Pant for Rs 10-15 crore, they are going to try. They might think about Shreyas Iyer for some time because they will need Indian batters to bat in those conditions,” he added.
Other notable players in the auction include David Warner, Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, and Jofra Archer. The auction is expected to be a fiercely competitive affair, with teams looking to bolster their squads for the upcoming season.
