Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra vehemently shook his head when asked whether the franchise would like to exercise RTM for Mohammed Shami.
India speedster Mohammed Shami, who entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction with his base price as INR 2 crore, was sold to SunRisers Hyderabad for INR 10 crore. Interestingly, Gujarat Titans, for whom Shami played two seasons, had the option of using the right-to-match card for the pacer, however, head coach Ashish Nehra was in no mood to raise the paddle. A huge bidding war broke out between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Shami as his name popped up in the Marquee Set 2.
Ashish Nehra does not exercise RTM option for Mohammed Shami. ((Gujarat Titans/Instagram))
Chennai Super Kings pulled out of the fray once KKR raised their bid to INR 8.25 crore. Lucknow Super Giants then briefly entered the race to acquire Shami, but soon, they pulled out too.
KKR had Shami until INR 9.75 crore, but SunRisers Hyderabad entered the bidding war at the last moment, raising the bid to INR 10 crore. KKR then decided to pull out, and the bid was with SRH.
Gujarat Titans were then asked whether they would like to exercise their right-to-match card, and it was then that head coach Ashish Nehra vehemently shook his head, to say no.
Fans not happy with Ashish Nehra
As soon as Mohammed Shami was sold to SunRisers Hyderabad, fans took to social media to express their frustration with Gujarat Titans for not using the RTM option for Shami.
Here are some of the reactions:
Shami played the IPL 2022 and 2023 seasons for Gujarat Titans, playing 33 matches and taking 48 wickets. The pacer had missed the 2024 season due to a knee injury.
Coming back to the IPL 2025 mega auction, it is being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the event will go on for two days. The proceedings began with Punjab Kings exercising their RTM option for Arshdeep Singh. The pacer was sold for INR 18 crore.
Shreyas Iyer was then sold to Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore, and soon after Rishabh Pant, broke the record to become the costliest pick in the history of IPL auction.
Rishabh Pant was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for INR 27 crore. Punjab Kings also acquired spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for INR 18 crore.
In the auction, Gujarat Titans also picked up England T20 captain Jos Buttler for INR 15.75 crore. The franchise also acquired India pacer Mohammed Siraj for INR 12. 25 crore. Interestingly, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) did not exercise the right-to-match card for Siraj.
Mitchell Starc went to Delhi Capitals while LSG also picked up David Miller.
