Rajasthan Royals went big for England pacer Jofra Archer at the IPL 2025 Auction, acquiring him for ₹12.5 crores, from a base price of ₹2 crores, in Jeddah on Sunday.
Other than Archer, RR made some good overseas buys, buying Sri Lankan duo Wanindu Hasanranga and Maheesh Theekshana for ₹5.25 and 4.40 crores respectively. Meanwhile, former MI player Akash Madhwal joined RR for ₹1.20 crore and Kartikeya Singh was roped in for ₹30 lakhs.
After rejoining RR, Archer said in a video, “Hey guys, so happy to be back. Can’t wait to get out there. Halla Bol.”
Archer has registered 124 wickets in 69 matches across all formats for England, at an average of 26.45. For RR, he played from 2018-21 in his first stint, followed by MI from 2023. He has bagged 46 wickets in 35 IPL matches, at an average of 21.33.
Theekshana was the first player of the set seven in the auction, with MI also eyeing his signature. He has taken 126 wickets in 107 matches fo Lanka across all formats. He has played for CKS since 2022, taking 25 wickets in 27 matches.
Meanwhile, Hasaranga is one of the best T20 crickets in the world, with 287 wickets and 2344 runs, and nine fifties in 200 matches. In his IPL career, he has taken 35 wickets in 26 matches.
The ongoing auction saw Rishabh Pant become the most expensive buy in history, with LSG getting him for ₹27 crore. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer joined PBKS, KKR for ₹26.75 and 23.75 crores respectively.
RR’s IPL Auction 2025 purchases-
Jofra Archer (12.50 Cr)
Wanindu Hasaranga (5.25 Cr)
Maheesh Theekshana (4.40 Cr)
Akash Madhwal (1.20 Cr)
Kartikeya Singh (30 Lakhs)
RR’s retentions-
Yashasvi Jaiswal (18 Cr), Sanju Samson (18 Cr), Dhruv Jurel (14 Cr), Riyan Parag (14 Cr), Shimron Hetmyer (11 Cr), Sandeep Sharma (4 Cr)
