In every IPL auction, there are some big players who go unsold. And it happened again in this auction, where players such as Imran Tahir, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma missed the IPL boat.
Cheteshwar Pujara had missed out on the IPL along with Hashim Amla, George Bailey, Mahela Jayawardene and Michael Hussey last year as well.
While Pujara and Tahir quoted a base price of Rs 50 lakh, Ishant Sharma quoted Rs 2 crore for himself.
The fast bowler was the only player who wasn’t sold in the Rs 2 crore bracket.
Here’s a look at the big players who were unsold in the IPL auction this year.
1. Ishant Sharma
India’s fast bowler Ishant Sharma confidently quoted a base price of Rs 2 crore and thats’s probably why he failed to get into any team for this year’s IPL.
The 28-year-old played his last T20 international in 2013 against Australia and played only four matches for Rising Pune Supergiants in the last IPL season.
Ishant, who has played 70 IPL matches, has picked up only 59 wickets at an average of 34.77.
2. Imran Tahir
South Africa’s leg-spinner Imran Tahir surprisingly went unsold in the IPL auction this year. The 37-year-old, who has picked up 29 wickets from 20 matches, has an impressive IPL bowling average of 21.48.
The 37-year-old also has a lot of experience under his belt. He has played nearly 150 T20 matches and has a delightful bowling average of 20.97.
He could have been very effective on Indian pitches, but unfortunately, none of the franchises are interested in him.
3. Cheteshwar Pujara
India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara had told The Quint, earlier this year, that he was keen to play the IPL. Unfortunately, he has gone unsold for the second consecutive year in the IPL auction.
Pujara has been trying to improve his limited-overs game and has also worked on his strike-rate in Test matches as well.
The franchises could have taken a chance with the technically-sound batsman, since his base price was just Rs 50 lakh.
The 29-year-old has a decent batting average of 25.48 and has also recorded a strike rate of well over 100 in his T20 career.
4. Irfan Pathan
India’s all-rounder Irfan Pathan also missed out on this year’s IPL. With a base price of Rs 50 lakh, the franchises should have surely tried to scalp the player. Guess it was not meant to be.
Pathan, who has played 102 IPL matches, featured in only four matches for the Rising Pune Supergiants last year. He didn’t pick up any wicket and scored only 11 runs in the season.
Maybe, his IPL 2016 record was the reason for him not to be a good choice in the auction this year.
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