IPL Auction 2025: Auctioneer Mallika Sagar’s blunder leaves Delhi Capitals’ co-owner angry, says, ‘It cost us a...'

The second day of the IPL 2025 mega auction was marked by a significant controversy. The auctioneer Mallika Sagar overlooked a bid from Delhi Capitals (DC) and mistakenly sold young Swastik Chikara to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). RCB began the bidding at the base price of Rs 30 lakh and secured the player after the gavel came down, with no other franchise looking interested. However, DC's head coach, Hemang Badani, later claimed that his team had raised the paddle during the bidding process.

The auctioneer acknowledged that she might have missed Delhi Capitals' bid due to the fast pace of the auction. However, despite DC raising a concern, Chikara was still sold to RCB because, according to auction rules, once the gavel falls, the sale is final and cannot be reversed.

This oversight left Delhi Capitals' co-owner, Kiran Grandhi angry and frustrated.“It cost us a chance to add a young player to our squad. This was a significant oversight,’ Gandhi said during a post-auction interaction.

Swastik Chikara was part of the Delhi Capitals squad in IPL 2024 but did not get an opportunity to play that season. The young talent gained significant attention for his record-breaking performance in the UP T20 League, where he scored 499 runs and won both the MVP and Super Striker of the Season awards while representing Meerut Mavericks.

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