The riches of the Indian Premier League were on full display in Saudi Arabia on Sunday as the best cricketers in the world went under the hammer during the player auction for the 2025 season.
Wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant, as expected, was the most sought after player in the auction and became the most expensive player in the league's history. He was snapped up for a record $3.2 million by Lucknow Super Giants in Jeddah.
The other player expected to attract as much attention was Shreyas Iyer who had guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title last time but was not retained. Shreyas went to Punjab Kings for 267.5 million rupees ($3.17m), undoubtedly as the leader of a squad that has been completely revamped.
"I have worked with him three or four years at Delhi and obviously he is a championship winning captain from last season," new Punjab coach Ricky Ponting, who left Delhi Capitals after this season, said.
"We have got someone there that can do the job if that's the way we decide to go, so I am delighted to have him back."
Wicketkeeper Pant was on the radar of many franchises looking for a reliable Indian batsman, keeper and leader. While Pant has a below par record with the bat in T20 cricket, he is still in high demand in the IPL.
And, after a record-breaking round of bidding, Lucknow agreed to pay 270m rupees for the 27-year-old Pant.
However, as is the case every year, there were a few bizarre picks during the auction. Indian all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer went to Kolkata Knight Riders for a staggering $2.8m after a fierce bidding war with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Venkatesh was among the players released by Kolkata and could have easily retained him for a lot less money.
Similarly, Punjab ended up buying the services of left-arm seamer and World Cup hero Arshdeep Singh for $2.1m even though he was part of the Punjab team and could have been retained earlier, especially since the franchise had only held back two uncapped players.
With a little over 570 players participating in the two-day auction, which concludes on Monday, there were bound to be some notable misses. Australian opener David Warner did not find any takers, while England's Jonny Bairstow also went unsold.
Those who have gone unsold can still be bought during the closing stages of the auction by teams looking to fill up remaining spots in the squad. However, most will likely go for their base price at that point.
Top 10 most expensive players at IPL 2025 auction
1. Rishabh Pant – 270 million rupees ($3.2m), Lucknow Super Giants
2. Shreyas Iyer – 267.5m rupees ($3.18m), Punjab Kings
3. Venkatesh Iyer – 237.5m rupees ($2.8m), Kolkata Knight Riders
=4. Arshdeep Singh – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Punjab Kings
=4. Yuzvendra Chahal – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Punjab Kings
=4. Jos Buttler – 157.5m rupees ($1.9m), Gujarat Titans
7. KL Rahul – 140m rupees ($1.6m), Delhi Capitals
=8. Trent Boult – 125m rupees ($1.5m), Mumbai Indians
=8. Josh Hazlewood – 125m rupees ($1.5m), Royal Challengers Bangaluru
=8. Jofra Archer – 125m rupees ($1.5m), Rajasthan Royals
Top 10 highest-earning players in IPL 2025
1. Rishabh Pant – 270 million rupees ($3.2m), Lucknow Super Giants
2. Shreyas Iyer – 267.5m rupees ($3.18m), Punjab Kings
3. Venkatesh Iyer – 237.5m rupees ($2.8m), Kolkata Knight Riders
4. Heinrich Klaasen – 230 million rupees ($2.7m), Sunrisers Hyderabad (retained)
=5. Virat Kohli – 210m rupees ($2.5m), Royal Challengers Bangaluru (r)
=5. Nicholas Pooran – 210m rupees ($2.5m), Lucknow Super Giants (r)
=7. Arshdeep Singh – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Punjab Kings
=7. Yuzvendra Chahal – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Punjab Kings
=7. Ruturaj Gaikwad – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Chennai Super Kings (r)
=7. Ravindra Jadeja – 180m rupees ($2.1m), Chennai Super Kings (r)
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
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Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
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Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
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- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
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Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
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RS Leipzig 3
Marcel Sabitzer 10', 21'
Emil Forsberg 87'
Tottenham 0
Mobile phone packages comparison
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
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