IPL 2018 Auction: 5 International stars who went unsold

The cash-rich mega-event IPL Auction is over, with eight franchises coming together to build a squad from the scratch, with the franchises having the choice of retaining only three players. A total of 169 players were sold, with over 300 players going unsold. The recently concluded Auction saw a lot of key players going unsold, with Lasith Malinga being one of the prominent names to have gone unsold. While the West Indian Chris Gayle was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for a sum of Rs 2 crores, South Africa‘s Hashim Amla who had a better season with the Kings XI Punjab went unsold. Australian all-rounder James Faulkner, who has been pretty much an apex part of the Rajasthan Royals squad did not get any suitors in the recently concluded Auction much to the surprise of the Australian. The franchises since then have tried and tested out several foreigners who have gone the way in bringing success to the tournament. Let us look at the five top International stars who have been given the boot in the IPL Auction 2018: 1. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) Lasith Malinga of Mumbai Indians in action. (Photo: Twitter) Arguably one of the best in the limited overs, Lasith Malinga spent his entire career with the Mumbai Indians with whom he won three IPL titles. Despite being the top cricketer he is, the right-arm sling bowler remained unsold in the 2018 IPL Auction. In his illustrious IPL career, the right-arm bowler has taken 154 wickets giving away only 6.86 runs an over. Further, Malinga has an excellent strike-rate, picking up a wicket every 16th delivery. With the bat too, the right-hander has not shied away knocking the long ball out of the park. Malinga’s best inning with the bat for the Mumbai Indians came in the Champions League T20 match against the Chennai Super Kings, where he guided his side home scoring 36 runs. At a base price of 1 crore, any of the franchise could have taken the risk with the pacer. 2. Hashim Amla (South Africa) Hashim Amla. (Photo Source: Twitter) After the IPL veteran, Malinga was left unsold; it was the turn of the South African opener Hashim Amla to be left unsold. At a base price of 1.5 crores, Amla was a cheap buy comparing his form with some of the other top T20 players such as Chris Gayle. While he suffered in the 2017 IPL with the Kings XI Punjab, the right-hander Amla slowly climbed up the ladder knocking two T20 centuries. It was, however, shocking to see the Kings opting for Chris Gayle when they had the option to retain the South African. In the ten games that Amla played last season, he had scored 420 runs, at an average of 60 with a blitzing strike-rate of 145.83. Surely, Amla’s gritty knock would be missed coming to this IPL. 3. Joe Root (England) Joe Root of England plays a shot. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images) The IPL has proved to be a tough time for a classical player like England’s Joe Root. The England skipper has been in some tremendous form for the Three Lions in their 4-1 win over the hosts Australia in the five-match ODI series. However, at the IPL Auction, the right-handed Joe Root remained unsold after having a base price similar to Hashim Amla. It also has to do with the fact that Root’s limited overs form has not quite been at the same level with his teammates like Ben Stokes. The 27-year-old, however, in his T20 career has scored 743 runs in 23 innings at an average of 39.10 at a strike-rate of 128.76. But given the fact that England players will miss the last leg of the tournament, the franchises opted against going in for Root. 4. James Faulkner (Australia) James Faulkner of Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) The Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has proved himself as a useful purchase for the Rajasthan Royals in the past, where he has taken the side over the line. However, things hit a dead-end for the Australian, who after being dropped from the Australian squad saw a similar fate from his IPL side. In the 60 games, the right-hander has scored 527 runs at an average of 21.08 with a strike-rate more than 130. However, it has been with the ball that the left-hander has shone. With his best figures coming in the 2013 edition of the tournament, the Australian and the IPL franchise knows that the all-rounder is way beyond his prime. However, at a base price of 2 crores with his experience, the all-rounder would have been a useful buy. 5. Corey Anderson (New Zealand) Corey Anderson. (Photo Source: Instagram) Another top player who missed out on an IPL contract is the Kiwi all-rounder Corey Anderson. The all-rounder hit the front pages of the newspaper after a blazing 36-ball century against West Indies in 2014. This later led to Anderson being sold at a mighty price of 4.5 crores back then to the Mumbai Indians. Plying his trade for the Mumbai Indians, the left-handed all-rounder scored 265 runs in his debut IPL season, with a high score of 95* coming against Rajasthan Royals. He continued his form into the 2015 edition where he knocked two fifties in four games before a fractured finger sent him back home. Since then, the all-rounder played only one season in the IPL, for the Delhi Daredevils where he scored 142 runs in 11 games, picking up three wickets in as many games. With a base price of 2 crores, all eyes were set on the Kiwi all-rounder to see if he will get picked for his explosive nature. However, all plans failed as the all-rounder went with the hammer ‘UNSOLD’.

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IPL 2018 Auction: 5 International stars who went unsold

Let us look at the five top International stars who have been given the boot in the Auction:

4. James Faulkner (Australia)

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