He went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction.
Youngster Prithvi Shaw witnessed a rapid rise in his career, but things have not gone well for him in recent times. The opener also led India to glory in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2018. In the same year, Shaw made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and continued to represent the franchise for seven long years. However, after two struggling seasons in IPL 2023 and IPL 2024, the Delhi Capitals (DC) released him ahead of the IPL 2025 auction and none picked him up at the auction either.
In his latest two IPL seasons, the batter scored 198 and 106 runs in eight matches, at a strike rate of 163.64 and 124.71, respectively. Following his continued poor run of form, no teams in the auction hall raised the paddle for the 25-year-old as he went unsold. But if the youngster manages to regain his form ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, then teams that are looking for an Indian opening option may look to include the player in their squad.
Let’s take a look at four IPL teams that might be interested in adding the opener to their squad in the IPL 2026 auction.
The IPL 2024 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have struggled to find their perfect playing combination in the entire IPL 2025. England’s Phil Salt and veteran KKR all-rounder Sunil Narine produced some stunning whirlwind opening partnerships, which guided them to their third title of this cash-rich league in the previous edition. But, after releasing Salt ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, they could not find a proper replacement for him.
They tried two players in that spot in the form of South African player Quinton de Kock and Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz. But the two keeper-batters scored only 152 runs in eight fixtures and 74 runs in five matches, respectively. Though Narine continued with his economical, wicket-taking spells but he also failed to replicate the IPL 2024 heroics this season. This may propel the Knights squad to acquire the 25-year-old in the IPL 2026 auction.
One of the most successful IPL franchises, Mumbai Indians (MI), may look to include Shaw in their squad for the next IPL season. The opener also used to represent Mumbai in domestic cricket, but recently he has decided to shift to Maharashtra. However, their former skipper Rohit Sharma had a fierce season with 418 runs in 15 matches.
His opening partner, Proteas Ryan Rickelton, also had a brilliant debut season in the IPL 2025 with 388 runs in 14 matches. However, the five-time IPL winners may bid for the batter to include an extra Indian opening option in their squad.
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The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) also had a struggling season in the IPL 2025. However, their openers were in blazing form throughout the tournament. The Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh notched up his highest aggregate ever in an IPL season to score 627 runs in 13 matches at a fierce strike rate of 163.71.
Alongside him, Proteas batter Aiden Markram also performed brilliantly to put up 445 runs in 13 matches before heading back for his national duty ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 Final. They also have a backup opener, in the form of Matthew Breetzke, who played against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final league-stage fixture of this season. However, the team may look to include Shaw as they lack an Indian opening option in their squad.
DC had a stunning start to the season with four successive victories, but they failed to carry on with the momentum and eventually finished the league stage in fifth position. However, the team is expected to continue with the three players whom they tried in the opening spot, including vice-captain Faf du Plessis, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and the youngster Abhishek Porel.
Rahul had an excellent debut season for the Capitals as he scored 539 runs in 13 matches, including a century. Porel also had a decent season, with 301 runs in 13 matches. However, the franchise may look to acquire the former DC player to strengthen their batting pool ahead of the upcoming IPL season.
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