Martin Guptill not getting an IPL contract leaves Michael Vaughan baffled

The much awaited IPL Player Auction 2018 for the eleventh edition of the cash-rich tournament ended a few weeks ago, but the turnarounds of players getting either whopping unexpected price tags or going unsold leaves populous baffled. There was more than one surprise element in this year’s auction and that was a lot of English players went unsold. Some of the famous names who were lapped up in the earlier auctions with fat pay cheques were overlooked.

The name which caught everyone’s eye of the Black Caps opening batsman, Martin Guptill, who despite being able to prove his stature at this level wasn’t able to beeline for the lesser known players, who went with hefty price tags. Guptill previously played for Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians for whom he scored 132 runs in seven encounters for the former and 57 in three games for the latter. The Kiwi opener kept his base price at a very reasonable Rs 75 lakh but didn’t get picked up mainly because of the permutations and combinations which a franchise needs to follow.

With retaining some of the greats of modern day cricket and going heavy on few others, the Auction made it difficult for Guptill to fit in. However, he yet again proved his worth while playing against England in the tri-nation series involving Australia and hammered the ball all around the park. Scoring 65 runs off just 40 deliveries at an astonishing strike-rate off 162.50 left former English skipper Michael Vaughan baffled. His innings was laced with 6 boundaries and three mighty sixes.

Here’s the tweet

Michael Vaugh couldn’t resist himself and Tweeted saying that Guptill not getting an IPL contract leaves him in a bamboozled state. Praising his athleticism and batting skills, Michael Tweeted, “Baffles me how Martin Guptill doesn’t get an IPL contract… Brilliant Batsman & unbelievable fielder …. !!!!!!!!!”

Baffles me how Martin Guptill doesn’t get an IPL contract …. Brilliant Batsman & unbelievable fielder …. !!!!!!!!!

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 13, 2018

Meanwhile, the IPL auction 2018 has finally got over and all eyes are now set on April 7, when the major tournament will get underway. Only time will tell if the franchisees have made the right choice by lapping up not so famous names and dropping some big ones.