The one who is fondly referred to as Mr. IPL. Two of the top five wicket-takers in the history of the IPL. The World Cup-winning T20 captain. Star bowler from the T20 World Cup. And a captain who featured in an IPL final just three months ago.
Piyush Chawla. File photo
The list of unsold players has as many big names as the list of sold players at the Indian Premier League’s two-day Player Auction, which concluded in Bengaluru on Sunday. .
Amit Mishra. | Photo Credit: File photo
Cut-throat competition
A closer look at the list of unsold — or those who were never called — makes it clear that the IPL has actually started evolving into a world of cut-throat competition. Neither the legacy matters nor does proximity to a star player or a team owner does.
Ishant Sharma. | Photo Credit: File photo
Otherwise, the likes of Suresh Raina, Aaron Finch, Eoin Morgan, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Adam Zampa would not have remained unsold along with several other proven performers in the international arena.
Dhawal Kulkarni. | Photo Credit: File photo
As a talent scout, preferring anonymity, explained the rationale behind the franchises’ preference for lesser-known Indian cricketers over star-studded names. “No franchise is willing to have a player who is not certain to be available for almost the entire duration and can be drafted in to the XI for a specific role at any point of time during the tournament,” he said.
Classic case
The fact that both Chennai Super Kings, which was his adopted home for over a decade, and his home franchise Lucknow Super Giants decided to ignore Suresh Raina underlines a classic case in point. Having been forced to pull out of IPL 2020 and not even being a shadow of a player he was in his heyday, Raina failed to attract even a bid in the auction.
Add to that his high base price of ₹2 crore and no franchise preferred to block a considerable sum for feel-good factor. Same was the case with the likes of Finch, Zampa, Morgan, Mishra, Chawla and Ishant. Even Dhawal Kulkarni, the only pacer to have played a game in each of the 14 IPL editions, went unsold being past his prime.
The fact that all these proven performers have been ignored with an eye on future also indicates that the IPL is heading towards Gen Next. While the debate will rage on about whether any of the unsold ones can ever be seen in the IPL, it will be interesting to see whether the new generation can be as prolific as some of the unsold stars.
Published - February 14, 2022 09:17 pm IST
