IPL 2021: S Sreesanth fails to make it to the final auction list

S Sreesanth, the Indian fast bowler, won’t be a part of the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), scheduled to take place on February 18 in Chennai. The speedster, earlier, registered himself in the auction at a base price of INR 75 lakhs. However, the 38-year-old pacer isn’t in the final list, released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

A total of 292 players, which includes 164 Indians, are set to go under the hammer in the auction. As far as Sreesanth is concerned, he made his return to competitive cricket in the recent edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. But somehow, the Kerala seamer was unable to draw the attention of the IPL franchises.

 S Sreesanth misses out

“A total of 1114 players had registered for the auction, of which the franchises shortlisted the candidates and the list was pruned. Maybe, Sreesanth did not attract the franchises for some reason,” one of the franchise officials was quoted as saying to Sportstar.

Sreesanth last played in the IPL back in 2013 when he represented the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He, along with Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, was arrested from the team hotel for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing scandals.

In the 2021 SMAT, he picked up four wickets from five matches. After playing in the tournament, Sreesanth was brimming with confidence and he’s looking forward to more accomplishments in his career.

“You can say I am in a dreamland. I played five matches and the adrenaline rush was unbelievable. It was nice to catch up with Robin Uthappa, a contemporary of mine who is now playing for Kerala, and he told me that he has still not given on the hope of playing for India,” Sreesanth had said.

Earlier, he also talked about moving ahead if he went unsold in the 2021 IPL auction. “Certainly. It gave me a great pleasure to be among the 13 shortlisted players from Kerala after all these years but my pursuit will not stop if there are no takers for me,” he added.

Sreesanth also talked about helping Kerala win the Ranji Trophy and reaching the 100-wicket landmark in Test cricket.