The auction for the final season of the Indian Premier League, the world’s biggest T20 cricket league, was held in Kerala on December 23, 2022. Many players fetched some huge sums in the auction with teams not holding back before splashing out big bucks .
England cricket team all-rounder Sam Curran became the most expensive buy in IPL auction history when Punjab Kings bought him for a record Rs 18.50 crore.
Meanwhile, Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green became the second most valuable player to be bought in the IPL auction when Mumbai Indians shelled out Rs 17.50 crore. Ben Stokes also fetched 16.25 crore from Chennai Super Kings.
Overall, no team had any hesitation when entering the bidding war for any player and they spent big money. The IPL has always seen some of the greatest players to ever play in the competition.
3 players who once went unsold in IPL auction but became a star player
But you know, there have been times when some of the legends of the game and IPL have once gone unsold in the IPL auction. Today in this article, we will take a look at 3 legendary players who once went unsold in the IPL auction.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith, the former captain of the Australian cricket team, is one of the best batsmen of the current era. Steve Smith’s status is such that he is considered special in all three formats of the game. While he is not currently playing in the IPL, he has shown his quality in T20 cricket in the ongoing Big Bash League.
But there was a time when this Kangaroos player did not find any buyer in the IPL auction. In the 2012 auction, no franchise showed interest in acquiring Steve Smith. However, after that Smith was picked as a replacement by Pune Warriors India when Mitchell Marsh was ruled out due to injury.
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders. However, Gayle could not perform anything special for Kolkata. Due to this, he had to enter the IPL auction of 2011, but he did not find any buyer there. After that, Gayle was roped in by RCB as a replacement for one of their injured players. While playing for RCB, Gayle played many explosive games and became one of the star players of that franchise.
Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard was unknown during the 2009 auction and went unsold. That same year, playing for Trinidad and Tobago in the Champions League, he scored an 18-ball 54 against New South Wales and caught everyone’s attention. After that, in the 2010 auction, Pollard was included in their team by Mumbai Indians, after which Pollard played continuously in the IPL and remained a part of the Mumbai team until last year when he announced his retirement.
