The IPL 2025 mega auction on November 24 saw a few costly blunders by auctioneer Mallika Sagar, resulting in financial losses for Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Sagar, the first female auctioneer in IPL history, made a couple of significant errors during the proceedings.
One of the most notable mistakes occurred during the auction of Jos Buttler. Due to a miscommunication, Gujarat Titans ended up paying Rs 15.75 crore for the English wicketkeeper-batsman, despite a lower bid from Rajasthan Royals. The confusion arose when the Titans had bid Rs 15.50 crore, and Sagar mistakenly asked Lucknow Super Giants if they wished to increase their bid to Rs 15.75 crore. After LSG declined, Sagar erroneously announced the Rs 15.75 crore bid as final, costing the Titans an additional Rs 25 lakh.
Another blunder happened during the bidding for Abhinav Manohar, whose base price was Rs 30 lakh. A bidding war ensued between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). After RCB withdrew, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad joined the competition, with SRH eventually securing Manohar for Rs 2.80 crore. However, due to a miscommunication, Sagar reopened the auction after realizing that Kolkata Knight Riders had placed a bid, which she had initially missed. This forced SRH to increase their bid to Rs 3.20 crore to finalize the deal.
