IPL Auction 2021 / Which prominent cricketers went unsold in IPL 2021 auction?

Cricket Desk: The much-anticipated IPL auction took place on Thursday and as expected, it lived up to the hype. Just like the previous auctions, the latest auction was full of drama as it sprung several surprises. 291 players went under the hammer in the auction for the available 61 slots. A total of 164 Indian players, 124 overseas players, and 3 players from Associate nations were part of the auction.

Initially, 1,144 players had registered themselves for the auction. The list was later pruned to 292 and then 291 (Mark Wood pulled out of the auction) after the eight franchises submitted their respective shortlist of players. In the end, only 57 players managed to get IPL contracts as all the franchises bolstered their squads for the last time ahead of IPL 2021.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went into the auction with the highest number of vacancies (9) while Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had the least number of vacancies (3). On the other hand, Punjab Kings went in with the highest available purse of Rs 53.2 crore for the nine vacant slots while Kolkata Knight Riders (8 vacant slots) and SRH went with the lowest available purse of Rs 10.75 crore. Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) went in with 6, 8, 7, and 9 vacancies respectively.

Unsold players

The highlight of the auction was Chris Morris’ lucrative IPL deal. The South African became the most expensive player in the history of the IPL after Rajasthan Royals spent Rs 16.25 crore for his signing. New Zealand star Kyle Jamieson was the second-most expensive player with Royal Challengers Bangalore shelling out Rs 15 crore for him.

Jamieson is followed by Glenn Maxwell (Rs 14.25 crore – Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Jhye Richardson (Rs 14 crore – Punjab Kings). The most expensive Indian player in IPL 2021 auction was Krishnappa Gowtham. Chennai Super Kings spend Rs 9.25 crores for his services. Gowtham has also become the most expensive uncapped player in the history of the competition.

At the same time, there were several players who could not even get a single bid in the auction and went unsold. Some notable names who failed to get an IPL contract are – Hanuma Vihari, Aaron Finch, Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Adil Rashid, Sheldon Cottrell.