New Salary Report: Rishabh Pant Surpasses Virat Kohli as Highest Paid Indian Cricketer; Shreyas Iyer Earns More Than Rohit Sharma Without BCCI Contract

India's dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made headlines by overtaking former India captain Virat Kohli to become the highest-paid Indian cricketer. Pant secured a mega deal with Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL 2025 auction, setting a new record for his bid. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer has also emerged as a top earner by outshining India captain Rohit Sharma to claim the third spot on the list, despite not holding a BCCI contract.

Pant, who was presented as part pf marquee set 1 at the IPL auction on Sunday in Jeddah, was signed by LSG for a jaw-dropping price of INR 27 crore. He hence became the most expensive player in the history of the league, beating Mitchell Starc's previous record of INR 24.75 crore by KKR in IPL 2024 auction.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

With Pant part of Grade B category in BCCI's annual player retainership 2023-24, worth INR 3 crore annually, it leaves the star cricketer with a total of INR 30 crore earnings annually. Pant was demoted to Grade B category as he was out of action since December 2022 owing to a car accident and hence was recovering during the time of the announcement. He was previously part of Grade A category and is likely to return to that list or even earn a promotion to A+, given his significant role in the Indian squad across formats, when BCCI announce the fresh contract list next March.

Pant hence pipped Kohli in the list of highest-paid Indian cricketers, with the 36-year-old earning a combined INR 28 crore. He was retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for INR crore, and is part of Grade A+ in the BCCI list, which is worth INR 7 crore.

Shreyas Iyer leaves behind Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah

Iyer and Ishan Kishan were the two players who were removed from the BCCI contract list for 2023/24 after they disobeyed the board's mandate for all Indian players on participation in domestic cricket when away from national team duty.

However, the IPL-winning captain left both Bumrah and Rohit behind in the list of highest-paid Indian cricketers, courtesy of his fresh IPL contract with Punjab Kings. The India batter was acquired for INR 26.75 crore at the auction on Sunday, making him the second most expensive player in IPL history.

Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, both part of Grade A+ in the BCCI list, stands next on the list with a combined earning of INR 25 crore, after both were retained by their respective IPL franchises for INR 18 crore.

Hardik, who was retained by MI for INR 16.35 crore, stands next on the list, followed by IPL teammate Rohit, who was retained for INR 16.30 crore. The former is part of Grade A category in BCCI's contract list, while Rohit is in Grade A+.

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