IPL Auction: Rishabh Pant Set For Date With History But Arshdeep Singh Won't Be Far Behind

The bids on Rishabh Pant could well soar like his audacious no-look six at Perth as he seems poised to become the highest paid player among the 577 who will go under the hammer at the two-day IPL mega auction starting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. There will be INR 641.5 crores cumulatively in the kitty of 10 teams with 204 possible slots to be filled but one can be rest assured that all eyes will be trained on Pant's name when it comes up.

Punjab Kings, with INR 110.50 crore in their coffers, are ready to outbid the other franchises.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with INR 83 crore, can be another serious bidder, so can be Delhi Capitals, who have INR 73 crore and a Right To Match (RTM) card to get their skipper for past few seasons back.

However, it is reliably learnt that Pant doesn't want DC to flash the RTM card as their parting of ways has not been the most pleasant and he no longer feels a part of the franchise. His comment that "my Retention wasn't about money for sure" is a reflection of his thought process.

But the biggest question will be whether Pant can become the first Indian player to breach the INR Rs 25 crore mark? The answer lies in how the 10 franchises are stacked up and how they are looking at their team composition.

A Chennai Super Kings (CSK) or Mumbai Indians (MI), with only Rs 45 crore, wouldn't even be going for the star keeper-batter.

But Punjab Kings, known for changing their team every two years, have kept their entire purse on advice of their head coach Ricky Ponting, who wants to reunite with his favourite player.

There are 81 players bracketed in INR two crore category base price and two sets of marquee players but one can trust the current India internationals to breach the million