Ben Stokes prioritised international cricket over IPL as he opted out of the 2025 mega auction. Here's why the England skipper made this tough decision.

By Daisy Atino Earlier the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked all the IPL franchises to confirm their list of retained players by October 31

The all-rounder had skipped the IPL 2024 season to manage his workload. He entered the IPL 2025 mega auction but went unsold. Shakib’s name wasn’t even brought up in the auction.

Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal disclosed that differences in operational philosophy led to the franchise not retaining Rishabh Pant after the IPL mega auction. Pant was subsequently sold to Lucknow Super Giants,

Royal Challengers Bengalore is one of the most highly followed team in the IPL, and whatever they do, becomes a big news.

The IPL 2025 Auctions saw that some of the former captains not make their way back to the previous franchises. KKR did bid for Shreyas Iyer but backed out and allowed him to join PBKS in the end.

Rajasthan spent Rs 5.25 crore on Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga. Maheesh Theekshana was roped in as another spin-bowling option. RR forked out Rs 4.20 crore to take Nitish Rana on board. Fazalhaq Farooqi was acquired at his base price of Rs 2 crore.

SRH reached the final in 2018 despite the absence of Warner, their captain and best batter, and repeated that feat in 2024 under Pat Cummins.

In the third edition of the Democratic Review System, we try to give our take on who actually won the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah. All the 10 teams splashed cash during the 2-day event to fill their spots for the new season.