Rishabh Pant, the India wicketkeeper-batter, has surpassed former captain Virat Kohli to become the highest-paid Indian cricketer after securing a record-breaking bid from Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2025 auction.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, who does not hold a BCCI contract, has overtaken India captain Rohit Sharma to claim the third position on the list.
Pant, featured in the marquee set 1 at the IPL auction in Jeddah on Sunday, was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants for an impressive INR 27 crore. This deal makes him the highest-paid player in IPL history, surpassing Mitchell Starc’s record of INR 24.75 crore set by KKR in the 2024 auction.
Pant, who currently holds a Grade B contract under the BCCI’s 2023-24 annual player retainership, earning INR 3 crore per year, now has a total annual income of INR 30 crore. His demotion to Grade B came after he was sidelined since December 2022 due to a car accident and was still recovering at the time of the announcement. Previously, Pant was in Grade A, and he is expected to be moved back to Grade A or even promoted to A+ in the next contract list, considering his key role in the Indian team across formats when the BCCI releases the new contract list in March.
Pant has overtaken Kohli as the highest-paid Indian cricketer, with the 36-year-old Kohli earning a total of INR 28 crore. He was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 15 crore and is in the Grade A+ category with the BCCI, which guarantees INR 7 crore.
