Not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma! Harbhajan Singh Picks This Indian Star to be the Most Expensive Player in IPL History

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has suggested that Jasprit Bumrah could dethrone Mitchell Starc to become the most expensive cricketer in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. The previous editions of the tournament saw the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) sign the veteran Aussie pacer for a record fee of Rs 24.75 crores.

Months ahead of the tournament’s next edition in 2025, Harbhajan has opined that Jasprit Bumrah is the prime candidate to surpass the astonishing fee if he enters the mega-auction. Sharing his opinion on X, the legendary Indian spinner wrote, “If Jasprit Bumrah put himself in the Auction. He will be the highest-paid IPL player in the history of IPL! Agree people?”

With the announcement of the IPL 2025 retention rules, Mumbai Indians will face challenges in negotiating the salaries of star players like Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. If they retain all four stars, Mumbai will have already spent Rs 61 crore of the allowed Rs 120 crore. Moreover, the former IPL champions will also have to consider the retention of other stars including Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Tim David and Gerald Coetzee.

Franchises will have to make some tough calls as the deadline for announcing their retentions will be on October 31. With the mega-auction, several franchises will have to let go of some big stars in hopes that using the RTM card will prove to be a financially feasible call.

The upcoming mega-auction will serve as a great opportunity for the lesser teams to rebuild their entire squad with a new core of players available in the bigger auction.

With several factors like auction dynamics coming into play, the coming IPL 2025 mega-auction will serve to be an interesting watch for fans who will hope that their teams can walk away with the best talents on offer in a bid to see the side at the top of the pile.

Reports from PTI have suggested that the 2025 mega-auction is likely to follow the same path as last year, with the event being held abroad with the Middle East being the likely destination.