9 Players fans are missing in the IPL 2016

The IPL auctions can be confounding in some ways and has always surprised fans and experts alike with franchises sometimes opting to buy seemingly inexperienced players for a lucrative amount of money while highly reputed and established players have been ignored for no clear reasons. But yes, it is that kind of a tournament where ordinary players with no international experience emerge as stars out of nowhere punching above their weights, while some star players have failed to live up to the expectations. Having said that, this time, some of the in-form stellar players who were snubbed in the auctions has caused disappointment to many fervent IPL fans. We’ll look at the top players missing from IPL 2016. 1. Usman Khawaja: Usman Khawaja. (© Getty Images) The Pakistani-born Australian opener, Usman Khawaja was one of the best performers of the Big Bash League 2015. The opening batsman impressed one and all with his fireworks with the bat scoring 345 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 163.5. On the back of his performances, the Sydney Thunder went on to lift their first title victory in the BBL. Khawaja also continued his good form in the recently concluded World T20. But surprisingly, though, he couldn’t generate enough pitch to attract any of the eight franchises. 2. Kumar Sangakkara: Kumar Sangakkara. (© Getty Images) The Sri Lankan legend is one such rare talent who was equally good in all three formats of the game. Kumar Sangakkara is also one of the best wicketkeepers to have taken the field. Nonetheless, considering that he retired from international cricket and taking into account the age factor the team owners perhaps might have thought he wouldn’t be able to perform like he can. But for that they definitely overlooked his performances in the BBL and the MCL where he was a force to reckon. Notwithstanding this, it has been a major disappointment for the fans as they won’t be able to see the classy southpaw in action. Who are the retired players still good enough to continue? – 5 Retired cricketers who can still play international cricket 3. Mitchell Santner: Mitchell Santner of New Zealand. (Photo by Christopher Lee-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) Another Kiwi who was ignored in the auctions was Mitchell Santner. He was one of the integral members of the New Zealand squad for the past one year or so and has produced quite a few match winning performances with both the bat and the ball. Santner was the leading wicket-taker in the super 10 stage of the ICC World T20 2016. But unfortunately, none of those performances could earn him a place in any IPL side. 4. Joe Root: Joe Root. (Photo Source: Twitter) One of the best batsmen at present, England’s Joe Root very surprisingly didn’t go under the hammer in the IPL auction. Rated highly by cricket pundits as the future of world cricket, Root has been the backbone of the England batting unit for a couple of years now. Joe Root averaged 49.80 in the recently concluded World T20 and was the third leading run scorer as well. He would have definitely been the batting backbone of the team had they picked him. 5. Darren Sammy: West Indies captain Darren Sammy. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) The 2016 World T20 champs West Indies were brilliantly led by the charismatic Darren Sammy en route to their glorious triumph at the grandest stage. Sammy has many a times lit up the IPL with his destructive power hitting and his presence in the IPL would have provided a lot of thrill and excitement to the fans. Shockingly, the entertaining Caribbean went unsold. 6. George Bailey: (Photo Source: BCCI) The ever smiling silent assassin from Australia is one player that any team would love to have. His big hitting abilities and cool as a cucumber demeanor is certainly not what an opponent would like to see. George Bailey was the skipper of the Kings XI Punjab for the last couple of seasons but the team opted to release him ahead of the auction. His base price of 1 crore probably proved to be the reason why he wasn’t picked. 7. Mohammad Nabi: Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan . (Photo by Christopher Lee-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan is an impressive all-rounder. He was the leading wicket-taker of the recently finished World T20 and was one of the main reasons why Afghanistan performed beyond expectations in the World Cup. Nabi is a handy customer with the ball picking crucial wickets and also has the ability to hit the big shots towards the end. But he was not considered as a good option by the franchises and went unsold. 8. Jason Roy: Jason Roy of England. (Photo by Jan Kruger-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) The swashbuckling English opener showed the world what he’s capable of with some fiery knocks upfront as the opener and was a key reason why England ended up as the runners-up in the World T20 2016. He has the ability to take on the best bowlers and is a clean hitter of the cricket ball and at the same time bats sensibly. Known as the face of the new generation of fearless batsmen emerging from England. However, Jason Roy too was overlooked in the auction by the franchises. 9. Ben Stokes: (Photo Source: Ben Stokes Instagram Handle) One of the future stars to watch out for, Ben Stokes is a brilliant fielder, a dangerous batsman, and a wicket-taker with the ball. But unfortunately, Stokes became the villain for England in the World T20 finals when he was hit for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the ultimate over. But it was more of sheer brilliance of Brathwaite and it would be immature to blame Stokes for that. Anyway, the IPL auctions were held much before the start of the World Cup when Ben Stokes was performing reasonably well and there was no reason why anyone would want to miss an effective all-rounder like him. Also read: Top 10 Captains with most runs in T20Is

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9 Players fans are missing in the IPL 2016

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