Rajasthan Royals acknowledged the wicket-taking ability and fighting spirit of pacer Tushar Deshpande signing him for INR 6.50 crores during the Indian Premier League 2025 mega-auction in Jeddah on Monday.

Deshpande was rewarded for an excellent season last year ending as the top wicket-taker for Mumbai in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The 29-year-old pacer also won the Ranji Trophy with Mumbai last season before going on to top the bowling charts for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2024.

The Royals were engaged in a bidding war with Deshpande’s former side Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025 auction before emerging with the top bid. Deshpande adds further ammunition and variety to the Royals’ pace arsenal which boasts the likes of Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma and Akash Madhwal.

Deshpande’s resilience and never-say-die attitude with the ball in hand has much to do with the way he has come up in the highly competitive environment of domestic cricket in Mumbai.

The pacer had a dream debut picking up 19 wickets from his first five Ranji Trophy games and ending with 21 scalps in the 2016-17 season when the Mumbai cricket team finished as runners-up. He also shone with the white ball with a tally of 15 wickets in eight games when Mumbai finished as champions in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The pacer also showed character to finish as Mumbai’s top pacer in the Ranji Trophy with a tally of 23 wickets from six matches in the 2022-23 season.

Breakthrough Season

Deshpande has become the go-to pacer for his sides in both domestic competitions as well as in the IPL last season. His knack for picking up wickets was highlighted time and again as he finished on top of the bowling charts for his team in three white-ball tournaments.

First, the pacer took 16 wickets from just eight matches, at an impressive average of 12.81 and a strike rate of 11.00, helping Mumbai reach the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year.

In the following month, Deshpande was at it again, this time in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, ending with a tally of 16 wickets from six matches for Mumbai averaging 14.50 and striking at a frequency of 18.68 balls.

And before joining CSK for the IPL, Deshpande added another silverware to his collection winning the Ranji Trophy with Mumbai, picking up 15 wickets from five matches, earlier this year.

With the Super Kings, Deshpande finished as their top wicket-taker for a second consecutive season with 17 scalps from 13 matches at an average of 24.94 and a strike rate of 16.94.

Deshpande’s wonderful season culminated with his dreams of playing for the country coming to fruition. He made his T20I debut with the Indian cricket team in the fourth of the five-match series against Zimbabwe in July.

Tushar Deshpande’s IPL factfile

After a single season with Delhi Capitals in IPL 2020, where he picked up three wickets from five matches, Deshpande was signed by the Super Kings in the IPL 2022 mega-auction.

Though the pacer played only two games with a solitary wicket in 2022, he bounced back in style in IPL 2023. From being the first impact substitute in IPL he went on to finish as the highest wicket-taker, sixth overall, in CSK’s victorious campaign in IPL 2023.

Deshpande backed up his brilliant season in 2023 with another memorable season next year finishing as the Super Kings’ top wicket-taker again.

Photo Credit: BCCI