IPL auction: Rishabh Pant creates history, sold to Lucknow Super Giants for Rs270 million

Star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), being bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a massive nearly 270,000,000 rupees during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction at Jeddah on Sunday.

He beat Shreyas Iyer, who had just become the most expensive player in league's history, going to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for 267,500,000 rupees a few minutes back. He had beat Australia's Mitchell Starc, who marked his return to IPL after years with a record-breaking bid of 247,500,000 rupees.

Initially, there was a bidding war between LSG and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with the latter giving up. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) entered the bidding war, trying to bolster their explosive batting attack and Delhi Capitals (DC) tried to use the 'Right To Match' card, but they could not match the value LSG put for Pant, breaking the bank for him and going beyond Iyer's value.

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With this, LSG has finally received a proper top-order batter, wicketkeeper and captaincy option in Pant.

The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter is an all-format for India and a livewire on the field. Having proven himself as a man for big stages in Test cricket, Pant's T20 game is just as solid. Though he has scored 1,209 runs in 76 T20Is at an underwhelming average of 23.25, strike rate of almost 128 and just three fifties, his overall T20 numbers are way better, having made 5,022 runs in 202 matches at an average of 31.78, strike rate of over 145, with two centuries and 25 fifties.

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