IPL 2025 Mega Auction: Top 3 Steal Buys From Day 1's Bidding Wars

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Glenn Maxwell and Quinton de Kock [Source: @LawrenceBailey0, @Vipintiwari952/x.com]Glenn Maxwell and Quinton de Kock [Source: @LawrenceBailey0, @Vipintiwari952/x.com]

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The IPL 2025 mega auction's day 1 is coming to a close and it has been an intense day for all the franchises. The managements came well prepared for the event and exercised the best of their strategies to get the best recruitments for themselves during the auction.

While, there were some franchises who went overboard for a few players, some of the franchises came up some unique strategies to picked up some steal deals. As we come to the end of the Day 1 of the mega event, we will take a look at the top three steal deals from the Day 1.

3. Rachin Ravindra - INR 4 Cr

The young Kiwi all-rounder was a part of the Chennai Super Kings in the last edition of the tournament. Even though he did not leave a big impact, Rachin Ravindra has shown his utility as a batter in Indian pitches. He had great numbers during the ODI World Cup 2023 and also performed brilliantly with the bat during the recently concluded Test series in India. 

Besides his impactful batting, Ravindra can also contribute with a couple of overs in the middle phase. Given his overall utility as a player the price of INR 4 Cr was a steal deal for the IPL franchises.

2. Quinton de Kock - INR 3.60 Cr

The experienced South African keeper batter had a base price of INR 2 Cr in the auction. The Kolkata Knight Riders who were looking for a opening batter looked persist for him during the bidding war. De Kock has a lot of experience as far as T20s and IPL is concerned. Given his experiences and the impactful performances he has given, a price of INR 3.6 Cr was indeed a steal deal. Having spent INR 23.75 Cr for Venkatesh Iyer, the recruitment of Quinton de Kock for less than 4 Cr compensated their budget expense. 

1. Mitchell Marsh - INR 3.40 Cr

This Australian all-rounder is known for his brilliant batting in the top order. Mitchell Marsh can score runs dynamically at the top and also sometimes contribute with the ball. The Australian all-rounder had a base price of INR 2 Cr ahead of the event. From there, being sold at INR 3.40 Cr was a steal deal. 

The Lucknow Super Giants did get a steal deal as they swooped up Marsh for INR 3.40 Cr. But there were a few reasons behind his being sold at such a low price. The injury proneness and the lack of consistency in his performance has often plagued his progress. Keeping these factors in mind some franchises might not have bid for him and he was sold for a low price of INR 3.40 Cr.