Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in the history of the Indian Premier League as he was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for 27 crore (£2.54m) at the mega auction in Saudi Arabia.

The India wicketkeeper, 27, was the subject of a bidding war between the Super Giants and his former side, Delhi Capitals.

Pant, who returned to the game in this year’s IPL after an 14-month lay-off following a car accident, beat the record set earlier in the day when Shreyas Iyer was signed for 26.75 crore (£2.51m) by Punjab Kings.

Australia seamer Mitchell Starc, who held the record prior to the auction, was signed for 11.75 crore (£1m) by the Capitals, some way short of his 24.75 crore (£2.3m) cost when he was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders last year.

Jos Buttler was the only Englishman in the initial batch of players auctioned in Jeddah, and the England white-ball captain and wicketkeeper was picked up by Gujarat Titans for 15.75 crore (£1.4m).

Liam Livingstone was signed from the second set of players, joining Royal Challengers Bangalore for 8.75 crore (£827,000).

Hundreds of players will go under the hammer at the IPL’s mega auction across Sunday and Monday, with sides looking to build their squads after retentions in October.