Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer serve notice with performances ahead of the Riyadh IPL auction

Call it punch or providence, three superstars who will be the cynosure at the IPL auction in Jeddah on November 24 and 25 have reminded the franchise owners they are in good nick. Nobody, really, needs to perform just to catch the attention of those who will sit on the auction table and loosen their purse strings as the mega auction for a mega club tournament is held in just over 24 hours. There has been needless negativity created over three cricketers with proven credentials – Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer – all of it out full blown in social media. That all the three players answered subtly and wanted to shift out of Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Rider was their own choice.

Some felt it was wrong to ‘take on’ the team owners, which, really, was not the case. Everyone knows IPL team owners are well-heeled and sitting on sizeable sums of money for the auction. Pant has been in irresistible form since his comeback in the IPL 2024 edition. There may have been doubts over his fitness and how he will cope with the rigours, post trauma of a car accident and recovery, but he has been sensational. Sample this, in the middle of a Test match in Perth on Thursday, Nathan Lyon asks Pant where he is headed in the IPL auction! Hilarious, this, since the focus should be on the Test match. Pant comes up with two words: “Don’t know.” Such chatter captured on the stump microphones is great for the audience which is watching on TV or cell phones.

Indeed, Pant is honest as he does not know which team will break the bank for him. Going by all that which has come out in media and social media, he certainly does not want to get back to Delhi Capitals. His terse reply to an IPL auction promo featuring Sunil Gavaskar was interesting. Pant talks of something like ‘it’s not about money,” which says a lot. Pant being Pant, he is ready to take risks. That is his DNA, that defines his cricket and how he takes life. And if there is hype that he is going to ensure a bidding war, why will he mind it. People must realise, IPL owners are there to make money as well, which they do. Definitely, when the IPL began in 2008, some teams may not have made profits in the immediate years. Today, every team has more than enough in its coffers. So, Pant will try and milk it and also go to a team where he gets more love. For all those who say “he did not do well in the last few IPL” that is gibberish. What Pant provides as a marquee player cannot be computed in cricket terminology of runs, catches and so on, just in the IPL. He is a superstar who will add to the brand value of the side.

Likewise, KL Rahul has seen bad days. But based on his gutsy performances in the Perth Test, he has offered enough pointers, he is ready to score again. Rahul had also left the Lucknow team with some bad memories. Usually the reticent type, he did speak about wanting to be with a team which will respect him and not talk behind his back. He has done his bit for Lucknow but the way he has bounced back as a makeshift Test opener proves he is more than ready for challenges. This aspect will weigh in his favour.

How does one leave out Shreyas Iyer, winning captain of KKR, who also feels Kolkata is not his team anymore. On Friday, Shreyas, who has been proving himself in first class cricket this season, came out smoking with a ton in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which is domestic T20 cricket. This was a timely knock for Shreyas, since he is not part of any of the Indian national teams in any format. Sheer bad luck or selectors neglecting him, Shreyas is ready to fight it out. Certainly, he will be a hot pick in the auction.

What stands out this time in the IPL auction is, plenty of focus is there on the Indian stars, not necessarily the overseas big names. In the past, there may have been a tendency to go for giants from abroad. They will also be part of auction dynamics for sure, but Indians need to be valued as well. All three, Pant, Rahul and Shreyas are outgoing captains. Who grabs them and at what price in the Riyadh auction has generated massive interest, almost like a stock market in bull grip!