Jeddah: On the first day of the IPL mega auction, a total of 84 players (72 sold and 12 unsold) went under the hammer with teams breaking the bank for the marquee Indian cricketers.

While India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant pipped Shreyas Iyer (Rs 26.75 crore) to become the costliest buy in IPL’s history with a Rs 27 crore winning bid from Lucknow Super Giants, Venkatesh Iyer was the surprise show-stopper as he was bought back for Rs 23.75 crore by his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.