The 10 teams build their squads through an auction. On Sunday, Rishabh Pant, India’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter, became the most expensive player in the IPL’s 16-year history when the Lucknow Super Giants paid $3.2 million for his services. The auction price represents the player’s salary.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 13, made history on Monday as he became the youngest player to ever have his rights purchased at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

England test captain Ben Stokes said he opted out of the bidding in the Indian Premier League to prioritize playing international cricket in what he described as the “back end” of his career. Stokes sat out the lucrative IPL this year to ease his workload following knee problems and was a notable absentee in the auction for the 2025 edition.

Captain Ben Stokes says he opted out of the Indian Premier League auction in order to prolong his England career.

Ben Stokes has revealed he did not enter the IPL mega auction to strip back his playing commitments as he attempts to prolong the twilight of his career. Stokes was a notable omission from the list of 52 Englishmen signed up for the mega auction in Jeddah for the 2025 competition.