IPL 2022: Best XI of unsold players in mega auction
Around 590 players went under the hammer in the mega auction.
The IPL mega auction for the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League took place on the 12th and 13th of February, 2022 in Bengaluru. There were some surprising deals that shocked all the cricket fans in India and all around the world. Some players got a lot more money than they were expected to get while some players who were expected to spark the bidding wars were sold for lesser money.
The IPL auction list was announced on February one and a total of 590 players were shortlisted from the original list of 1214 players who applied to be in the auction. However, BCCI added ten 2022 U-19 World Cup-winning Indian players just a few hours before the event who were previously not eligible to apply for the mega auction this year.
Ishan Kishan became the most expensive player in the auction when his previous team Mumbai Indians went berserk for him. Kishan got a whopping deal of 15.25 Crore. Deepak Chahar was the second most expensive player with 14 Crore as bought by Chennai Super Kings. Some of the T20 stars who have already made a name for themselves were seen not getting bids from any of the 10 franchises. Here is a look at-
Best XI of unsold players at IPL 2022 mega action
1. Aaron Finch (c)
The Australian veteran had no bid during the mega auction. Finch is one of the best openers in the 20-over format all over the globe. Finch has played for most of the franchises as he has taken the field for Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Pune Warriors, SunRisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Punjab Kings, and Royal Challengers Bangalore in various editions of the Indian Premier League.
He last played an IPL game in 2020 for RCB against SRH. He has a good amount of experience playing T20 cricket. In 85 T20Is, he has scored 2641 runs at an average of 35.41.
He holds the record of highest individual record in the history of international T20s. In 87 IPL games, he has scored 2005 runs at an acceptable average of 25.38. He captained the Australian team to their first-ever T20 World Cup title recently in 2021.
2. Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk)
The fearless and flamboyant wicketkeeper from Kerala was expected to go for huge bucks in the IPL auction. He was in the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for IPL 2021, however, he did not get a chance to play a game. Azhar came into the limelight when he hammered a 37 ball ton in a Syed Mushtaq Ali game against the mighty Mumbai side. His century was the first one by any Kerala batter in T20 format.
He made his first-class debut for Kerala in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season in November 2015. Afterward, he made his List A debut next month in the 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
His game suits the shortest format the most. He has been a crucial bloke in Kerala’s batting lineup. The 27-year old could be a good pick for Gujarat Titans because they had no wicketkeepers in their squad till the last few moments of the auction.
3. Suresh Raina
Mr. IPL is not playing the 2022 season of the league and this was the most heart-breaking news from the mega auction. It was expected that he will get picked by the Chennai Super Kings. However, the “Chinna Thala” of the CSK fans will see the next season as a spectator. His performances were very ordinary in the 2021 season as per the standards he has set for himself.
The veteran southpaw has played 205 IPL games and has scored 5528 runs at an average of 32.52. He is fourth on the list of the leading run-scorers in the history of the tournament and was number one for a long period of time.
Raina was replaced by Robin Uthappa in the playing 11 of the previous season due to his poor performances. It’s the end of an era when we will not see veteran IPL stars like AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Suresh Raina.
4. Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar is a dependable middle-order batter from Madhya Pradesh. Patidar played a couple of crucial cameos for RCB in the 2021 season when he was given the role of batting at number three.
He made his IPL debut for RCB against Mumbai Indians in the 2021 season and played four games for the franchise in 2021. Patidar is an integral member of the Madhya Pradesh side in the domestic tournaments.
The 28-year old made his FC debut for MP in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season. He is a technically sound batter who can play the role of an anchor and can be handy in the middle-order. He made his T20 debut in the 2017-18 zonal T20 League for Madhya Pradesh. His breakthrough year came in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season where he scored 713 runs in eight games. Patidar could be a good option for most of the franchises.
5. Saurabh Tiwary
Saurabh Tiwary is a familiar name for the Mumbai Indians fans as he served the franchise for several seasons. Tiwary was a part of the 2008 U19 World Cup-winning Indian side alongside Virat Kohli. He looked very impressive and promising in that tournament and that was enough for the Mumbai-based franchise to select him as their draft picks for the inaugural IPL season.
Since the first edition of the tournament, Tiwary has featured in the Mumbai Indians squad for several seasons. He played for MI from 2008 to 2012 and again came back in 2017 and played two seasons. He again got picked in 2020 and he was there till 2021.
Tiwary has played some crucial knocks for the franchise and has made many memories with them. Mumbai was seen waiting for the names of their core to come.
6. Shakib Al Hasan
The veteran all-rounder not getting picked by any teams was also a bit of a surprise. Shakib has played for Kolkata Knight Riders and SunRisers Hyderabad in the league and his performances have been decent. He has played 71 IPL games and has scored 637 runs and has picked 63 wickets. He is a Bangladeshi legend and he has been the most important player for the Bangladesh cricket team for ages.
Shakib has played 94 T20Is for Bangladesh and has scored 1894 runs. He has 117 T20I dismissals to his name. Alongside all these things, Shakib is having a cracker of a time playing the Bangladesh Premier League.
Shakib is in a red-hot form and having him in the side could be a blessing for most of the franchises. He went unsold even in the second round and now he will not be a part of the 2022 edition of the IPL.
7. Ben Cutting
Ben Cutting was unsuccessful in grabbing the interest of the franchise during the mega auction. The all-rounder was once a match-winner for the Mumbai Indians. Ben Cutting was the man who finished the final of 2016 IPL final in the favor of SunRisers Hyderabad.
He is an ambassador of the franchise cricket. He plays almost every T20 league around the globe. He is a crucial member of the Queensland Bulls team in the Australian domestic circuit. Cutting is a star in the Big Bash League. He was one of the most prominent players for the Brisbane Heat till the 2019-20 season.
He then moved to Sydney Thunder. Apart from SunRisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, he has also played for Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. He has played 21 IPL games and has scored 238 runs. He has picked 10 IPL wickets and last played an IPL game in the 2019 season.
8. Amit Mishra
The veteran leg-spinner is a legend of the Indian Premier League. He is just behind Lasith Malinga in the list of leading wicket-takers in the history of IPL. He has played 152 IPL games wherein he has 166 wickets to his name. He started his IPL career when he was picked by Delhi Capitals to play the 2008 season. He then moved to Deccan Chargers in 2011 and SunRisers Hyderabad in 2013.
The skillful wrist-spinner has picked three hat-tricks in IPL. He is the only bowler to claim three hat-tricks in IPL. He was also the first-ever bowler to take a hat-trick in IPL.
Mishra also holds the record of dismissing a particular batter the most number of times in IPL and that batter is non-other than Rohit Sharma. Mishra has had a few appearances for the Indian cricket team too. He is 39 years old and this might be the end of the road for the legendary spinner in IPL.
9. Dhawal Kulkarni
The 2022 IPL season will be the first IPL season without Dhawal Kulkarni. Dhawal has played every IPL season till now. He started his IPL journey in 2008 when he took the field for Mumbai Indians. Since the first season, he has been a part of the mighty Mumbai Indians core. He played the first five IPL seasons for Mumbai Indians before moving to Rajasthan Royals in 2014.
He played for two seasons for Rajasthan and then moved to Gujarat Lions in 2016. He returned to Rajasthan in the 2018 mega auction. In 2020, he was again bought by his first IPL franchise.
He has played 92 IPL games and has 86 dismissals to his name in the cash-rich league. Dhawal has never disappointed any of the IPL franchises he played for. The Indian pacers were in demand in the auction but the story of Kulkarni is very contrasting.
10. Ishant Sharma
The tall fast bowler from Delhi is now considered a Test specialist. Ishant has been a good bowler in the limited-overs formats. Ishant was the first bowler to take a wicket in the history of IPL when he dismissed Rahul Dravid in the inaugural IPL game in 2008.
Ishant was a promising and quick fast bowler for Delhi before getting picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for the first IPL season. The Delhi pacer has played 93 IPL games in which he has taken 72 wickets. He did well for Delhi capitals in the last few seasons.
Ishant is only the second Indian fast bowler after Kapil Dev to play 100 Test matches for India. He is an experienced lad and has played top-level cricket for years. He last played an IPL game in the 2021 season against Punjab Kings for Delhi Capitals.
11. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Mujeeb was very impressive for Punjab Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad in the last few seasons. He was picked by Punjab Kings during the mega IPL auction in 2018.
He was one of the best performers for the franchise for three seasons. Like his other spinner teammate Rashid Khan, he has also made a name for himself in the most demanding cricket league in the world.
Mujeeb has played I9 IPL games and has picked 19 wickets at a bowling average of 31.16. Mujeeb has played most of the T20 leagues around the globe and has a lot of experience of playing 20-over cricket despite being a 20-year old boy. Mujeeb was released by Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 IPL season. He was then picked by SunRisers Hyderabad to play the 2021 season.
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