There is a strong demand for Rishabh Pant even before the mega auction.Image Credit Source: PTI
Now there are just a few hours left for the IPL mega auction to begin and then the fate of many players will be decided. Although the names of 577 players will go up for auction in the auction starting Nov. 24 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, only a few players will get the most attention. The biggest name in this today is Rishabh Pant. The former Delhi Capitals captain is estimated to be the most expensive seller. But even before the mega auction, an offer was made for Pant that can surprise anyone. Yes, a huge offer of Rs 33 crore was made for Pant and Punjab Kings bought him. The only difference is that this bid was made in a mock auction.
This time, three such players enter the mega auction – Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who were the captains of their respective teams until last season and hardly anyone expected them to participate in the auction. In such a situation, there is maximum curiosity about them. Especially for Pant, who was surprised by the release of Delhi Capitals for the first time after 9 seasons. Since then, several speculations have been made about which franchise will make the highest offer for Pant and whether he will become the most expensive player in IPL history.
Now, any decision that needs to be made will be taken in the mega auction that will be held in Jeddah, but before that, many types of mock auctions have been organized on different platforms for the past few days. While Ravichandran Ashwin has conducted such auctions, some IPL franchises have also done the same. Now, just a day before the mega auction, on Saturday, November 23, a mock auction was organized at the Jio Cinema itself. In this, veterans like Suresh Raina, Mark Boucher, Eoin Morgan, Robin Uthappa were sitting as bosses of different franchises and as soon as Rishabh Pant’s name came, there were strong offers. In the end, the highest bid of Rs 33 million was made and Punjab Kings bought it.
Now, although this is just a mock auction, there are high hopes that a big bid will also be made for Pant in the mega auction. Well, not only Pant but also KL Rahul is in the eye and there is a good chance that he will get a bigger amount. His name also appeared in this mock auction and he also returned with the highest bid. His home team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, offered Rs 29.50 crore for Rahul and bought him in the mock auction. Well, whether he will receive such a huge amount or not will not be clear until Sunday, but there is a possibility that he will return to Bengaluru.
