The tug of war over Jofra Archer’s involvement in next year’s Indian Premier League has ended with him being picked up by Rajasthan Royals for £1.2 million in the auction.
The auction for the 2025 season – known as a mega-auction because teams are able to retain a maximum of six players, leading to high turnover – is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday and Monday.
A back and forth between England, with whom Archer has one year remaining on his central contract, and the IPL resulted in the paceman being a late entry to the auction on Friday.
He was prepared to miss this season to prioritise his long-awaited return to Test cricket, but new tournament rules meant that if he skipped the 2025 IPL, he would be banned from the 2026 and 2027 editions. So, through gritted teeth, England allowed him to enter, knowing they could hardly deny him the huge financial opportunity that two IPLs represent in a short career.
Archer previously played for Rajasthan and Mumbai Indians. This time, he was picked up for 12.5 crore by Rajasthan in an auction of unprecedented spending.
There was a new home for England’s white-ball captain, Jos Buttler, while India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was bought for a record £2.55 million.
After seven seasons with the Royals, Buttler was picked up by Gujarat Titans for £1.5 million (15.75 crore). The Ahmedabad-based team are owned by private equity firm CVC Capital and have Englishman Vikram Solanki as their director of cricket.
Shortly after India batsman Shreyas Iyer was bought by Punjab Kings for a record-breaking £2.5 million (26.75 crore), Lucknow Super Giants spent 27 crore on Pant.
England’s Liam Livingstone was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for £826,000 (8.75 crore), while Harry Brook was picked up for £590,000 (6.25 crore). Phil Salt will join Royal Challengers Bangalore after going for £1 million (11.5 crore).
