Each team came into the auction fully prepared, knowing which players to target and had, in fact, gone all out to buy their services for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.
IPL 2020 Auction saw some fierce bidding between franchisees in the quest of grabbing world-class overseas bowlers. Kolkata might have paid a bit too more but have got the services of currently one of the best bowlers in world cricket in Pat Cummins. He became the most expensive overseas bid in the history of IPL, heading to KKR for 15.5 crores.
Delhi Capitals managed to snatch Sheldon Cottrell for as many as 8.5 crores, while RCB bagged the services of Kane Richardson and Dale Steyn to bolster their bowling attack.
Franchises particularly Rajasthan Royals and SRH showed their interest in buying young Indian talents. The 17-year old young prodigy in Yashaswi Jaiswal was picked by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping amount of 2.4 crores, while
India’s under-19 captain headed to Sunrisers Hyderabad for 1.9 crores.
Once again, the franchises have spent big to fill in their gaps; however, there have been many players who went unsold this year. The list includes players who are no strangers to T20 cricket, and some making a mark in the format.
Here we look at the unsold XI from this year’s auction:
1. Martin Guptill
A mainstay in New Zealand’s batting line up, Martin Guptill has endured a poor run of form this year. Guptill didn’t boast of good numbers in IPL either. He has played 13 IPL games with a not so impressive average of 22.50.
2. Evin Lewis
A proven T20 specialist, Evin Lewis not getting any buyer was a bit of surprise, especially with the way he played in the recently concluded T20 series against India in India. Looking at his T20 numbers, the southpaw has played 16 matches, scoring 430 runs at an average of 26.87.
3. Shaun Marsh
Once a pivotal player in the Kings Eleven Punjab, Shaun Marsh fails to find a team in this year’s auction as well. He holds a vast experience when it comes to playing in the IPL. The southpaw has scored 2477 runs in 71 matches at an average of 39.95. Given he wasn’t even picked in the last year’s auction as well, this might be the end of the road for the Australian cricketer in the IPL.
4. Henry Klaasen
Klaasen made his debut last year in the IPL in 2018. He has been part of the league for the last two seasons but failed to make an impact in either of them. As a result of which, the South African wicket-keeper has failed to attract any bid this season. He has played 7 IPL matches this year and has scored 66 runs at an average of 13.20.
5. Yusuf Pathan
Known for his brutal power, Yusuf Pathan is no stranger when it comes to T20 cricket. On his day he can tatter any bowling line up, however, over the years his performances in the IPL has been nothing less than a disappointing story. Last season, he played 10 matches and had managed to score 40 runs at an average of 13.33.
6. Colin de Grandhomme
The New Zealand all-rounder played for RCB last year and failed miserably, managing to score just 46 runs in 4 matches. Even though he played some outstanding knocks against England in the recently held T20 series, the all-rounder found no buyers this season.
7. Carlos Brathwaite
Barring a few performances in the big matches at the biggest stages, Carlos Brathwaite has failed to perform, be it in International matches or domestic T20 leagues. In the 4 years, he has played for 16 IPL games and has only managed to score 181 runs at a poor average of 13.92 runs.
8. Adam Zampa
A nation like India never had an issue of producing world-class spinners and this is one of the foremost reasons why not many overseas spinners are being bought in the IPL auction. Considering Adam Zampa’s experience of playing T20 cricket and what he brings to the table, he could have been a great customer in the upcoming edition of the IPL.
9. Tim Southee
A household name in New Zealand cricket, Tim Southee holds the reputation of being one of the finest bowlers in T20 cricket. However, the New Zealand bowler failed to make the cut this season. This also has a lot to do with the way he performed for RCB last season. Southee gave away 118 runs at an average of 118.00 and an economy of 9.00.
10. Kesrick Williams:
The West Indian bowler is no longer a stranger across cricket fraternity, thanks to notebook celebrations exchanged between him and Virat Kohli. Unarguably, Williams impressed each and everyone in the T20 series with his variations and temperament. Sadly, no franchise bought him this year. Maybe a few more notebook celebrations and he could be seen playing in the next to next season.
11. Mustafizur Rahman
The left-hander has quite an experience of playing in the IPL but couldn’t find any buyer this year, which also means no Bangladesh player will be part of this year’s IPL, given Shakib Al-Hasan has been suspended from cricket. He has played 24 matches in the IPL and has claimed 24 wickets at an economy of 7.51.
