The IPL 2022 auction saw 204 players sold to the ten franchises over the course of two days. As is often the case, a number of big names went unsold. Divy Tripathi puts together an XI of players who didn’t find a buyer this season.
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IPL 2022 auction: an XI of unsold players
Martin Guptill
The New Zealand opener is the highest run-getter in T20Is yet failed to get himself a buyer. While he had a good run in the T20I series between India and New Zealand after last year’s World Cup (152 runs at a strike-rate of 163.44), he was ignored as a potentially blistering option at the top of the order.
Josh Philippe
The Australian is our wicketkeeper. The 24-year-old previously featured for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2020 season and played a key role in Sydney Sixers’ runners-up finish in the recently concluded Big Bash.
Suresh Raina
This will be the first IPL without Mr. IPL. The southpaw, with 5,528 runs, is the fourth-highest IPL run-getter of all-time. He fits in at No.3, where he played several scintillating knocks for Chennai Super Kings.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith is one of the greats of the modern era, and while that is more so for his red-ball exploits, it proved a surprise that he didn’t find any takers for this season.
Saurabh Tiwary
The Jharkhand player didn’t find any takers for this season, despite averaging more than 50 in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Eoin Morgan
From captaining KKR to fetching no bids, Morgan hasn’t had it easy recently. His lack of form over the last year has counted against him; in 2021 he averaged just 16.66 in T20Is.
Shakib Al Hasan
The Bangladesh all-rounder was yet another high-profile player to go unsold this year. With nearly 6,000 runs and more than 400 wickets in the T20 format, he is a fine asset to have – but the 10 IPL sides opted to ignore him.
Dhawal Kulkarni
The Mumbai bowler has 86 wickets in the league. He had his best run in the 2015 and 2016 seasons when he picked up 31 wickets across two campaigns. He’s a handy option with the bat as well.
Ishant Sharma
The beanpole paceman has toiled for years for India, but the sun seems to be finally setting on his career. His 72 IPL wickets at an average of 37.51 might not look the most impressive, but Ishant still stands as one of India’s great quicks.
Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra might be 40 this year, but the spinner stands as the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history and collected figures of 4-24 in a win for Delhi Capitals against Mumbai Indians last April.
Tabraiz Shamsi
According to the ICC rankings, Tabraiz Shamsi is the second-best T20I bowler in the world, and he was at his best in 2021: the calendar year saw him take 36 wickets at an average of 13.36, while going at less than six an over.
