Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

IPL Auction 2025: Top-Ranked ICC T20I Batters & How They Fared Under the Hammer

Most of the top-ranked ICC T20I batters were retained by their respective teams

The Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction for 2025 was concluded over two days in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which saw teams splurging INR 639.15 crore on 181 players, whereas 385 registered players went unsold. The event saw history getting created as Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player at INR 27 crore despite not being a top-ranked ICC T20I batter or all-rounder.

Of course, his wicketkeeping talent, composure to bat in a clutch situation, and the fact that he is likely to be the next captain of Lucknow Super Giants are the reasons why he earned such a big amount. Not to forget, he has a massive fan following, which is bound to pull fans to the stadium, thus generating revenue for the Lucknow Super Giants.

Given we mentioned the ICC rankings, now the question stands: how did the top-ranked ICC T20I batters fare at the auction?

Travis Head

At present, Australia’s hitter Travis Head is the top-ranked ICC T20I batter with 855 points. Given how he has turned himself into a bombardier of boundaries in recent times, it is not a surprise that the Sunrisers Hyderabad retained him at INR 14 crore. Last season, he was one of the reasons why Hyderabad reached the IPL final while breaking multiple records. In 15 games in 2024, Head scored 567 runs with a highest score of 102 while averaging a strike rate of above 190. He also registered five fifties.

Phil Salt

Phil Salt triggered an intense bidding war between his former club, Kolkata Knight Riders, and his new club, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Given he had an impressive season with the Riders last year, Kolkata pursued him but couldn’t outbid Bengaluru because of a restricted purse. However, Bengaluru, with a remaining purse of INR 72 crore, splurged INR 11.50 crore to grab Salt.

Salt is expected to become Bengaluru’s captain, given he has already captained England in the T20I format. He is presently ranked second in the ICC T20I batters’ table and is also good behind the wicket.

Tilak Verma

With 806 points, Tilak Verma is the third-ranked ICC T20I batter at present. Having made his IPL debut in 2022 with the Mumbai Indians, he has turned out to be a star performer for the Mumbai-based franchise, raking in runs in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Last season, he scored 416 runs in 13 games at an average of 41.60 and a strike rate of 149.64. Therefore, he was one of the five players who were retained by the Mumbai Indians at a price of INR 8 crore.

Suryakumar Yadav

India’s present T20I captain is the fourth-ranked ICC T20I batter at the moment with 788 points. His association with the Mumbai Indians doesn’t need a recalling, and his exploits with the bat are equally famous in the cricketing world. Therefore, he was retained by Mumbai Indians at 16.35 crore, making him the second most expensive player in the Indians’ squad.

Jos Butler

Given the 5th and 6th ranked players are from PAK, who are not welcomed to play in the IPL, we move on to the 7th ranked player, i.e., Jos Buttler. Despite his bombastic stint with Rajasthan Royals, he was let go by the team. However, Punjab, Lucknow, and Gujarat fought heavily for Buttler, and finally it was Gujarat outbidding the other two teams to secure Buttler’s services at INR 15.75 crore.