IPL 2018: Unsold playing XI from the auction

All the eight squads are set to battle it out in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) after the mega-auctions took place over the weekend. There was an intense bidding war for certain players like Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat who eventually became two of the most expensive players during the event. KL Rahul and Manish Pandey followed them as the franchises sought their services for the 2018 season. However, there were a few prominent players who surprisingly didn’t attract any bids and won’t take part in the Indian T20 league. A total of 169 players were sold out of a whopping 578 players who went under the hammer. A lot of players going unsold also raised a few eyebrows as franchises made it clear that they were going for current form over reputation. The legend of the shortest format Chris Gayle too was picked by Kings XI Punjab at the last moment when his name popped up for the third time in the auction. But there were many others who deserved an IPL contract this year. Given the fact that most of the overseas players went unsold during the auction, the basic criterion of only 4 overseas players has not taken into consideration in this XI. Here we bring you the best playing XI of unsold players from the IPL auction 2018: 1. Lendl Simmons Lendl Simmons IPL. (Photo Source: Twitter) Lendl Simmons, the aggressive cricketer from Windies, is surely one of the destructive openers going around in the T20 cricket. It was a surprise that his previous franchise, Mumbai Indians, didn’t even bid for him. Though it could be argued that his base price of Rs. 1.5 Crore was a bit too high for the likings of the teams. But Simmons is always a risk worth taking as he will win you the matches more often than not on his day. He has scored 1079 runs in 29 matches so far in IPL at an amazing average of 39.96 and strike rate of 126.64. The right-handed batsman has also slammed a century and as many as 11 half-centuries in limited outings during the league. The fact that he endured a poor run last year went against him and was not shown any interest by any of the teams. 2. Martin Guptill Martin Guptill IPL. (Photo Source: Twitter) There were absolutely no bids for this swashbuckling New Zealand opener. Martin Guptill is arguably the best cricketers going around in the shortest format given his ability to play straight and accumulate runs at will. But it was baffling to see that none of the teams showed interest in him. He played for Kings XI Punjab last year and scored all his runs at a strike rate of 150 while playing in seven matches. He would be an ideal partner to Simmons at the top in this extraordinary line-up. Guptill has so far featured in a whopping 194 T20s in which he has amassed 5540 runs at a decent average of 32.58 and a strike rate of almost 127. Moreover, he has smashed 2 centuries and a massive 35 half-centuries which proves that he is amazingly consistent in this format. 3. Hashim Amla Hashim Amla of Kings XI Punjab. (Photo Source: Twitter) Hashim Amla has proved time and again that he is worthy of a T20 player. But he is always termed as a Test player needlessly despite scoring at a decent strike rate. He was one of the top run-getters for KXIP last year and more often than not provided the team with excellent starts. The tally of 577 runs with two massive tons at a strike rate of 141.76 and average of 44.38 in 16 matches is the testimony to his batting prowess. He believes in playing technically correct shots and has continued the norm in the T20 format as well. Amla is not known to smash the ball around the park and probably that is the only aspect which has gone against him during the auction. Sadly, the elegant cover drives and straight drives will be missed this time around in the IPL. 4. Joe Root Joe Root of England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) England Test skipper and probably the most dynamic limited overs batsman didn’t find any takers in the IPL auction. He had put forth his name for the first time in the Indian T20 extravaganza and was looking forward to playing the league. When he went unsold on the first day, one would’ve thought he would come back in the auction later on the second day but he wasn’t even called back by any of the teams. He would’ve felt hard done and would want to prove his critics wrong when he next plays in the shortest format. His batting in the middle brings the much-needed calmness to the team and has an ability to carry the team through the team under tough circumstances. His T20 International strike rate of 128.70 and average close to 40 is the testimony to his consistency with the willow. 5. Eoin Morgan (C) Eoin Morgan IPL. (Photo Source: Twitter) Another England batsman who failed to impress the team owners was Eoin Morgan. The left-hander is the dynamic batsman which is needed to sustain in the format where tonking the ball with utmost power is given the top priority. He was with Kings XI Punjab last year and had a torrid season playing only four matches. He could accumulate only 65 in the limited outings for the team which went against him. But Morgan is too good a player to be not playing one of the most competitive leagues in the world. Morgan has scored more than 5000 runs in 239 appearances in the T20 across the world at an impressive strike rate of 127.01 with 25 half-centuries. His presence in the middle-order of any team would’ve worked wonders for them. But he won’t be playing this year IPL unless any of the sold players get injured and the team approaches him. 6. Johnson Charles (wk) (Photo Source: Twitter) Johnson Charles had a decent Carribean Premier League (CPL) as he had pummelled the players often playing in the top order. He loves to smash the bowlers out of the park with the bat and is a more than a decent bet with the gloves behind the wickets. However, he failed to attract any bids as the bids preferred mostly the Indian wicket-keepers for the job. Charles though should’ve given the opportunity to prove himself against some of the world class players but he was nowhere in the strategies of any of the teams. Charles has played in 116 matches in the shortest format in his career so far and has accumulated 2645 runs at a decent strike rate of 124. He has already hit 114 maximums and is bound to add to the tally if he continues to bat in the same fashion in the upcoming years. 7. Corey Anderson Corey Anderson. (Photo Source: Twitter) Corey Anderson is such an impact cricketer that any team would love to have him in their side. Once again it was baffling to see that no franchise even discussed his name when it was his turn to go under the hammer. He was with Delhi Daredevils last year but they decided against retaining him and also didn’t bid for him. He struggled to impress in the last season scoring only 142 runs in 11 matches when he had to take the young team through in most of the games. But the players like Anderson have the ability to win games single-handedly on their day. He is also a decent medium pace bowler and can chip in with few overs whenever his captains needs him. Anderson’s strike rate of 138.63 to score 1768 runs in 100 T20 matches will be missed in 2018. 8. Dale Steyn Dale Steyn SRH. (Photo Source: Twitter) Dale Steyn will not be playing in the Indian cricketing festival for only the second time ever since its inception. The injury concerns which he carries on his shoulders with him went heavily against him in the auction. Even the auctioneer Richard Madley termed him as the ‘legend’ when his name up during the two-day event, but the franchises kept their emotions aside and didn’t bid for him. If he would’ve successfully managed to play the Test series against India then he might have attracted few bidders. Steyn was with Sunrisers Hyderabad last year but couldn’t play any game due to injury and has so far scalped a whopping 92 wickets in 90 matches at an amazing average of 25.06 and a staggering economy of 6.72. Unfortunately, Steyn gun won’t be featuring this year and surely the cricket fans will miss him. 9. Samuel Badree Samuel Badree. (Photo Source: Twitter) The players from West Indies have always played a huge role in every IPL teams ever since the league has taken shape. Samuel Badree has been one of them foxing the opposition batsmen with his brilliant leg-spin bowling. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last season and did well to strike after every 16.66 balls. He played only 7 matches but picked nine wickets which one would feel should be enough to attract bidders in the auction. However, that was not the case for the cricketer from Trinidad. If an overview of Badree’s overall T20 career is taken into consideration, he becomes a more lethal and economical bowler. So far, the leggie has picked 181 wickets in 184 matches at a magical economy of 5.92 and strike rate of only 21.4 which proves he has managed to keep the lid on the run-scoring of the opposition more often than not. 10. Ishant Sharma Ishant Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter) The lanky Indian pacer was not picked by any of the eight teams during the auction. Ishant Sharma is one of the most experienced players in India currently and his presence in the team would’ve helped the teams. He leads the Indian bowling attack in Tests right now and is seen guiding the lesser experienced players. Though his record in the IPL doesn’t justify his talent and the franchises decided not to bid for him in the auction. But he would’ve been a steal for the teams at a base price of Rs. 75 Lakhs. Ishant has been a little bit on the expensive side if his overall record in the shortest format is considered as he has conceded runs at 7.85 runs per over. At the same time, he has picked 88 wickets in 113 innings and also has a five-wicket haul to his name. The bowlers are always at the receiving end in this format and Ishant is no different to it. 11. Sreenath Aravind Sreenath Arvind. (Photo Source: Twitter) Sreenath Aravind was hailed as the top bowler in India in last few years. But his performance has faded away in the recent times which led to his non-selection in the auction. He endured a horrible season with the ball for RCB in 2017 as he leaked runs at an economy of 9.01 and picked only 5 wickets in 10 matches. But prior to that, he had scalped 11 wickets in 9 outings not conceding many runs. He also has a superb variation of a slower ball to his kitty which bluffs the batsmen more often than not. But he won’t be getting a chance this time around to showcase his skills. Sreenath Aravind has been impeccable picking as many as 5 four-wicket hauls in 84 T20s he has played in his career. His economy of less than 8 is also considerable as he strikes after 16.6 deliveries. In short, the teams have missed out on a genuinely talented T20 bowler this season.

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IPL 2018: Unsold playing XI from the auction

This team is surely capable of beating any of the eight teams on their day.

8. Dale Steyn

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