5 lesser-known faces who came in IPL auctions

In the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) provides a platform for the budding youngsters to showcase their talent on the big stage and rub their shoulders with the greats of the game. There have been many players who made it to the national cricket teams of their respective countries after shining bright in the T20 extravaganza.

After each and every IPL auction, the cricket fraternity has seen unknown players become overnight crorepatis or millionaires. Over the years, we have also witnessed many unknown players registering themselves for the auctions and sometimes bagging some lucrative deals too.

In this article, let’s flip the pages and take a look at 5 lesser-known faces who registered themselves for the IPL auction:

1. Noor Ahmad in IPL 2020 auction

At the tender age of 14 years and some days shy of 15, the left-arm off-spinner Noor Ahmad had become the youngest cricketer to register himself in the auction for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Noor was among the seven Afghanistan players registered in the 2019 auction namely Mohammad Shahzad, Zahir Khan, Karim Janat, Waqar Salamkheil, Qais Ahmad, and Naveen ul Haq.

The left-arm Chinaman bowler had grabbed attention in 2019 when he had traveled to India with Afghanistan’s U-19 team and had picked 9 wickets in the series that India U19 won 3-2. Ahmad had managed to impress the talent scout of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and was also called for the trials.

However, the spinner failed to find any buyer for himself during IPL 2020 auction and went unsold. He had registered himself with a base price of INR 30 lakhs but couldn’t attract the attention of the buyers.

2. Nayan Doshi in IPL 2021 auction

English cricketer Nayan Doshi became the oldest cricketer ever at the age of 42 to register himself for the upcoming auction for the 2021 edition, scheduled to take place on February 18 in Chennai. Though Doshi hasn’t featured in any international game for his country yet, he has impressive domestic records under his belt.

The left-arm leg-spin bowler has thus far featured in 70 first-class games picking 166 wickets at an economy of 3.28 and an average of 40.4. The spinner has also played 52 T20 matches in the domestic circuit scalping a whopping 68 wickets at an economy of 6.80 and an average of 16.8.

As far as the Indian Premier League is concerned, Nayan was picked by two franchises namely Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2010 and 2011 editions respectively. Playing in 4 IPL matches across two seasons, Nayan has picked 2 wickets at an economy rate of 8.46 and an average of 39.5.

3. Digvijay Deshmukh in IPL 2020 auction

Right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-handed batsman Digvijay Deshmukh had made an entry in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the 2020 edition and was sold to the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) for his base price of INR 20 lakhs. While the batsman didn’t feature in a single game for MI throughout the marquee event, he was awarded a chance of spending time with players like Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, and Hardik Pandya in the nets.

Digvijay had made his Twenty20 debut for Maharashtra in the 2019–20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament followed by his Ranji Trophy debut in the same year. So far, the all-rounder has played one first-class game picking six wickets at an economy of 2.50. He has also featured in 7 T20 games picking up 9 wickets and scoring 19 runs at an average of 9.5.

The 22-year-old is more famous for making an appearance in the Bollywood film called ‘Kai Po Che’ in the year 2013. He had portrayed the role of 14-year-old Ali Hashmi, a child cricketer, and had gotten a chance to work with stars like Sushant Singh Rajput, Rajkumar Rao, and Amit Sadh.

4. Nathu Singh in the IPL 2016 auction

The right-arm fast bowler hailing from Jaipur, Rajasthan, Nathu Singh had shot to fame during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy edition. Making his debut for Rajasthan, the pacer had picked up a whopping eight wickets against Delhi on his debut at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Impressed with his raw pace and swing, the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians decided to bid for the seamer and he became an overnight millionaire after getting picked by MI for a whopping INR 3.2 crore for the 2016 auction. However, the seamer failed to make it to the playing XI of any game and was picked by Gujarat Lions for INR 50 lacs for the 2017 edition. He featured in just 2 games for the team picking 1 wicket at an economy of 3.75.

2017 was the last time fans saw Nathu Singh playing in an IPL match. Though he was bought by the Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2019, he didn’t feature in any match and was eventually released by the franchise.

5. Sayan Ghosh in IPL 2017 auction

The 28-year-old Sayan Ghosh has often been compared with the Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga for his slingy action. The right-arm quick had made his first-class debut for Bengal during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy edition against Vidarbha. However, Ghosh’s breakthrough year came in 2017 when he picked a whopping 14 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Ghosh was successful in attaining the attention of the buyers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he was scalped by franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a base price of INR 10 lacs during the 2017 auction. Sayan failed to get even a single opportunity in the playing XI but still found a buyer in the form of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the 2018 auction.

The pacer had the same fate in Delhi as he couldn’t feature in any IPL game and is yet to make his debut in the Indian T20 Extravaganza.