Social media makes a mockery of franchises for their choices of these players: Top 5 Most Controversial Signings of IPL 2025

From the highest-bidding LSG to the PBKS, who had the biggest purse into the mega-auction, here is a good look into the most controversial bids made in the IPL 2025 mega-auction; social media has a say.

The IPL 2025 mega auction for the upcoming season marked several unexpected choices made by the franchises, as many players were picked for a considerably illogical amount of money while many crucial players who could be useful shortly were left unsold. 

 

While players like Faf du Plessis were picked considering their form despite their old age, David Warner, the retired IPL veteran, was left out unsold. Great English pacer Jimmy Anderson, who registered for the first time in IPL auction history, never got a bid as well. 

 

Though some decisions seemed imminent, as all predicted Pant to be the highest-bid player in the auction, while the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jos Buttler, and Yuzvendra Chahal seemed to have acquired their best-deserved prices. 

 

5. Jofra Archer

 

The English bowling all-rounder was picked for a whopping INR 12.25 crore after a fierce bidding war between the Rajasthan Royals and the Mumbai Indians. Eventually the Royals got back their old hat. 

 

However, given Jofra's weak form and frequent injuries, Archer didn't appear to be a likely player in the long run. Hence, fans have railed against him as not a very conventional pick, especially owing to his high purse. 

 

4. Venkatesh Iyer

 

Venky Iyer, one of the two Iyers who received a lump sum amount of money in the auction, was picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders for a huge INR 23.75 crore. With due respect to the players caliber in the game, none anticipated this insane amount of money spent for the MP all-rounder. 

 

KKR signed a middle-order batsman in him, with him not bowling very often with the white ball; hence, for KKR fans as well as the cricket fans, this is among the worst picks in the history of the IPL.

 

3. Jitesh Sharma 

 

Punjab Kings fame Jitesh Sharma, the wicketkeeper batsman, was picked this time by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a huge INR 11 crore. This seemed like a very abrupt choice, as the player has neither shown promising form nor does his record in the domestic or IPL format impress enough for this huge amount of money. 

 

Sharma will be one of the players in the RCB middle order, adding power to their long middle order comprising several power hitters. Yet for a team lacking all-rounders and proper long-scoring batters, Jitesh doesn’t seem to be a good pick. 

 

2. Abdul Samad 

 

LSG made some insane choices this time around; despite having retained Pooran, the explosive left-handed wicketkeeper-batter, for a huge amount, they included Pant for INR 27 crores, the highest-ever bid made in the IPL. 

 

Samad, who played for J&K, has never sparked in the IPL, playing the previous editions for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Samad is known as a big-hitting finisher, yet including him for INR 4.2 crores doesn’t seem to be a calculated move. 

 

1. Shreyas Iyer

 

Shreyas Iyer, this name suggests otherwise in this list, as the ex-KKR title-winning skipper has many reasons to acquire a huge amount of money. Iyer has shown promising form in both the IPL and other domestic games, and he is currently one of the best batters in the IPL. 

 

Ponting and Co. have picked Iyer. It seems a bit unwarranted to cite his supreme form and his antics as a skipper, despite the amount they spent bidding on the player, as social media is rife with Iyer having not done anything to manifest this big bid.

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