"Bowlers have made a lot of money and that makes me very, very happy" - Aakash Chopra on IPL 2025 Auction

Aakash Chopra has expressed delight about bowlers raking in the moolah at the IPL 2025 auction. While acknowledging that batters were still prized acquisitions, he noted that bowlers weren't too far behind.

Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, who were bought by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for ₹18 crore apiece, were the joint most expensive bowlers at the auction. Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins and Rashid Khan were retained by their respective franchises for ₹18 crore apiece ahead of the auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reflected on some of the trends at the IPL 2025 auction. As for bowlers earning big bucks alongside the batters, he said (4:30):

"Bowlers have made a lot of money and that makes me very, very happy. For a very long time, it was said that this is a batters' game. Batters come and make runs and win matches and are given more money. Even if you see now, it's right - Virat Kohli ₹21 crore, Heinrich Klaasen ₹23 crore and Nicholas Pooran ₹21 crore."

"The batters have got the money - Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, but don't rule out the bowlers anymore," Chopra added.

Rishabh Pant (₹27 crore), Shreyas Iyer (₹26.75 crore) and Venkatesh Iyer (₹23.75 crore) were the most expensive buys at the IPL 2025 auction. Heinrich Klaasen (₹23 crore), Nicholas Pooran (₹21 crore) and Virat Kohli (₹21 crore) were the most expensive retentions ahead of the auction.

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"No one went till ₹25 crore and was not going to go as well" - Aakash Chopra on the bowlers' price tags

Yuzvendra Chahal is the most expensive spinner in IPL auction history. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While acknowledging that bowlers might not have earned as much as the most expensive batters, Aakash Chopra noted that many of them drew big bids.

"No one went till ₹25 crore and was not going to go as well because the auction dynamics were like that. However, Arshdeep Singh ₹18 crore, Yuzvendra Chahal ₹18 crore, Noor Ahmad ₹10 crore, Ravichandran Ashwin ₹9.75 crore, and then you go towards the fast bowlers - Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer - they were all very expensive," he said in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that bowlers, unlike batters, need to perform their roles in every game.

"The list doesn't end here. After that, you can see Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, and then Mayank Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah among the retained players. The bowlers have earned the money. It felt good because all batters might not get to bat, but you need five bowlers. Every good bowler is 20% of your bowling," Chopra observed.

Apart from Arshdeep Singh, Trent Boult (₹12.50 crore), Josh Hazlewood (₹12.50 crore), Jofra Archer (₹12.50 crore), Mohammed Siraj (₹12.25 crore), Mitchell Starc (₹11.75 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (₹10.75 crore), T Natarajan (₹10.75 crore), Kagiso Rabada (₹10.75 crore) and Mohammed Shami (₹10 crore) were the most expensive seamers at the auction.

Other than Yuzvendra Chahal, Noor Ahmad (₹10 crore) and Ravichandran Ashwin (₹9.75 crore) were the costliest spinners at the auction.