5 times when star players went unsold in IPL Auctions

IPL Auctions are often a lot about team compositions and team strategies. Not all players picked are with the intention of making them play in the first XI. There is a lot of talk about backups, injury replacements and many such things. Hence, these things play a role in teams picking certain players in the auctions. However, there are certain players who don’t need such attention. They bring a different dimension to the side. But there are times even such players are overlooked. In fact, on multiple occasions, star players have gone unsold. They haven’t attracted any attention from the franchises despite doing two-three rounds in the auction. Hence, here are five such star players who went unsold in IPL auctions over the years 1. Joe Root (2018) Joe Root. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) After Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in 2009, it took time for England cricket to come to the IPL in this decade. However, the likes of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes had successful stints which helped him improve their game. Thus, in 2018, Joe Root had ambitions to come and play the IPL as well. After the end of the 2016 World T20, Root played just five T20Is till the start of 2018. Hence, he wanted to play a lot more T20 cricket and was pretty open about it. However, he found no takers in the 2018 auction. Having kept his base price at INR 2 crores, the England Test captain attracted absolutely no attention. Root was pretty disappointed with the snub but understood that the team dynamics played a part as well. He has a pretty good T20 record. He has amassed 1619 runs at an average of nearly 31 and has a strike-rate of 125.69. 2. Brendon McCullum (2019) Brendon McCullum. (Photo Source: Twitter) If Chris Gayle is at the top of the run charts in T20s in most aspects, it is Brendon McCullum who comes second. McCullum is one of the only two players to have amassed more than 9000 T20 runs. In fact, he recently retired from all formats, else he wasn’t too far away from breaching the 10,000 mark. McCullum has had a decent impact in the IPL as well. The former New Zealand skipper has scored 2880 runs at an average of 27.69 and a strike-rate of 131.75. Having played 109 games for five different teams, the dashing opener had set his base price at INR 2 crore in the 2019 auctions. He had played six games for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2018 where he blew hot and cold. However, he was looking good but couldn’t convert his starts. But he found no takers in the auctions for the 2019 season. Teams invested more in youngsters which saw McCullum go unsold. However, he will continue to be associated with the IPL as he has been named as head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). 3. Chris Gayle (2011) Chris Gayle. (Photo Source: IANS) Chris Gayle has a unique love story with IPL auctions. In 2008, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He didn’t play in 2008 but played 16 games across 2009 and 2010 and was pretty good. The hard-hitting opener returned with 463 runs which came at a strike-rate of 141.59. However, much to everybody’s surprise in 2011, he went unsold. There was not one franchise that showed interest in Gayle who had a base price of $400,000. But after Dirk Nannes’ injury, he got a call up from the RCB management and the rest is history. Gayle went on to smash a lot of batting records in T20 cricket and the IPL. However, after a couple of poor seasons in 2016 and 2017, RCB released Gayle ahead of the 2018 season. In the mega auctions, Gayle came up three times and it was Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) who picked him at the last minute. He has been very good for them, having amassed 858 runs at an average of 40.86 and at a strike-rate of 150.26. 4. Michael Hussey (2016) Michael Hussey. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Michael Hussey was one of the top players for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) right from the start of the IPL. He has been a consistent performer at the top of the order and was one of the constant figures in the line-up. For three years between 2011 and 2013, Hussey churned out runs and was CSK’s premier batsman. However, in 2014, he parted ways as he was released back into the auction pool. The Australian left-hander played nine games for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2014 season where he scored just 209 runs at an average of 23.22. But in 2015, CSK bought him back for INR 1.5 crores. But after they were suspended for two years, Hussey got no attention in the 2016 IPL auctions. He had kept his base price at INR 2 crores and found no takers despite his proven record in the previous editions. 5. Lasith Malinga (2018) Lasith Malinga. (Photo: IANS) There’s absolutely no doubt that Lasith Malinga is an IPL legend. No other bowler has picked up more wickets than Malinga in the history of the IPL. With a strike-rate of 16.63 and an average of 19.85, the Sri Lankan ace pacer has picked up 170 wickets in the IPL. Right from 2009, he has been a big part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) set-up. Year after year, he has produced match-winning performances. However, in the mega auctions in 2018, Malinga had no team picking him, not even Mumbai Indians. Despite his relatively lower base price of INR 1 crore, Malinga went unsold. However, he played a part in the 2018 edition as a bowling mentor for MI. But in 2019, Malinga was back in the auction pool and was picked up by MI once again. He picked up 16 wickets in the season as MI went on to lift the IPL title for the fourth time.

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5 times when star players went unsold in IPL Auctions

They haven’t attracted any attention from the franchises despite doing two-three rounds in the auction.

4. Michael Hussey (2016)

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