Potential bid for Pant could surpass ₹25 crore, team owners captivated by his X-factor: Raina

Kolkata, Rishabh Pant's game-changing abilities will spark a heated bidding war for him in Sunday's IPL mega auction in Jeddah. Former India batsman Suresh Raina predicts that the talented wicketkeeper-batsman could break the ₹25 crore barrier with his exceptional skills.

Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out ₹24.75 crore to acquire the services of Australian pacer Mitchell Starc ahead of IPL 2024, the highest in the tournament's history, and Raina felt it could be broken this time.

"More than his batting and keeping, he’s a great character to have in the team when he is a captain. Any owner or coach would not like to miss his X-factor," Raina, IPL Expert, JioStar, told PTI.

So will Pant break the ₹25-crore mark?

"I think he will go for more than that. Punjab, Delhi, KKR, and RCB have the money. So, when he comes to the auction, expect him to go 4-5 crores higher than ₹25 crore," said Raina, the first player to breach the 5000-run mark in IPL history.

Highlighting Pant’s on-field energy and rapport with players, Raina, a four-time IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings, said: "He has that strength, the bonding he has with players, and everyone wants to play under him, which makes him special."

"No one will leave him. This is a three-year auction. If you’re getting Rishabh Pant for three years. CSK don't have that budget, but I definitely see him going to RCB or maybe as the captain of KKR. He will bring a lot of fans if he goes to KKR," the former India left-hander added.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru needs a captain after releasing Faf du Plessis, and Raina said they have many options in the auction room like KL Rahul, Pant or can even go back to Du Plessis.

"Virat Kohli knows the DNA of RCB but he has declined to captain the side. As for captaincy, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant could be one of the options," the 37-year-old said.

"I'm sure they will go for Faf also. He's playing in the global leagues and performing really well. RCB had very good bonding with Faf also he's a very good captain.

"He's fit, scoring a lot of runs. I don't think so there would not be any issue. It would be up to Virat if he would wish to change the opening slot.

"Will he bring in Rachin Ravindra and will play at No. 3. He got the World Cup, Champions Trophy, but what he's missing right now is just an IPL trophy."

Advantage Arshdeep

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Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who led India’s bowling attack with eight wickets at an impressive average of 15.37 in the recent 3-1 T20I series win against South Africa, was surprisingly not retained by Punjab Kings.

Raina said Punjab could have kept him by offering a higher bid, but that may turn out fine for Arshdeep in the auction.

"He has been the biggest surprise of the year. He’s a proven performer. Despite Bumrah not being there, he has done really well in South Africa. He is a gun player. Punjab could have shelled out 3-4 crores extra to retain him, but now, in the auction, he has the advantage.

"He brings 'Punjabi tadka' to any team. He’s a great team-man. Today’s youth are strong characters; they believe in themselves.

"They want to go into the auction and test their value. It’s actually a fight between owners, captains, and coaches. Players are ready to bowl anywhere, but 'thoda paise bhi do' .

CSK, MI need to bolster spin attack

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CSK have a modest budget of ₹55 crore and their strategy should be to rope in a good spinner like Sri Lankan Maheesh Theekshana or Yuzvendra Chahal.

"They should really target domestic players. They have Pathirana, but they definitely need a good spinner someone like Theekshana.

"They always lacked a strong spin attack, especially outside Chennai. A leg-spinner like Chahal would be a good pick. They also need an overseas batter; it could be Daryl Mitchell."

With their five retentions in skipper Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, five-time champions Mumbai Indians are sorted and would like to bolster their spin attack, Raina said.

"They definitely need a good-quality spinner, maybe Yuzvendera Chahal. They might also go for Ashwin. The Rohit-Ashwin combination could be important. They’re looking for a wicketkeeper and could definitely use RTM for Ishan Kishan."

As for highest overseas bid, Ravindra and Devon Conway could be the hottest commodities following their success in the unprecedented 3-0 Test triumph in India recently.

"Players like Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra are strong contenders. Rachin did very well in Tests," Raina said.

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