PBKS' auction strategy to acquire Shreyas Iyer ridiculed by former coach Tom Moody: 'Don't think they were expecting...'

Analysing PBKS' auction approach, Tom Moody was left bamboozled and felt that it was unplanned by the team management to make such a bid for Shreyas Iyer.

Punjab Kings broke the bank at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction, purchasing Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2024 title-winning captain Shreyas Iyer for ₹26.75 crore. It made him the most expensive buy in IPL history for few minutes, breaking the record of Mitchell Starc, who was acquired by KKR for ₹24.75 crore last year. Then moments later, Iyer's record was broken by Rishabh Pant, who was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crores.

Shreyas Iyer has joined PBKS.(PTI)

PBKS also used the Right to Match (RTM) option in the IPL 2025 auction, bringing back pacer Arshdeep Singh for ₹18 crores.

PBKS entered the auction with a massive purse of ₹110.5 crore, retaining only Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh. Now they have 65.75 crore remaining in their purse.

Tom Moody ridicules PBKS

Analysing PBKS' auction approach, former coach Tom Moody was left bamboozled and felt that it was unplanned by the team management. "It tells us that Punjab came into this auction, with pockets full of crores and now they have emptied them very, very quickly, with two players being auctioned off," he said.

"Yes, you knew they were going to go hard early because they were in that position. I don't think in any world they were expecting to pay 18 crore for Arshdeep or nearly 27 crore for Shreyas Iyer. They have got their two players, but they have paid dearly for it," he added.

Iyer is expected to captain PBKS for the upcoming season and is the obvious option after his purchase. It was a mega-bidding war which saw KKR make the first bid of ₹2 crore, then PBKS came in at ₹2.20 crore. In between, KKR stopped and Delhi Capitals (DC) rushed in, and raised the price to ₹25 crore. PBKS and DC kept on bidding, and the former won at the end.

Iyer has a legendary IPL career, having led DC to the finals in 2021. Then he joined KKR in 2022, and won their third IP title in 2024, under the guidance of mentor Gautam Gambhir.