5 Players who came back hard after going unsold in IPL auction earlier

No player would ever want to find no bidders for him at the IPL auction. Right from when his name is announced to the time someone buys him, the anxiousness levels for anyone are at peaks. However, there are times when only disappointment is left. Most of the players who go under the hammer often remain unsold. Teams have been a lot smarter in recent times in terms of their strategies and the players they’d like to acquire.

Therefore, there are only tens of players who are sold. However, there are a few unsold players who have taken this as a challenge and performed with more determination in the other matches. When the got their opportunity in the IPL later on, they ensured that they made their mark and did extremely well.

Here are five unsold players who made their mark when they got an opportunity later:

1. Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a legendary player now and is surely one of the best captains in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, there was a time where he really struggled. When he started off as a leg-spinner, he was with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Then, he moved the now terminated Kochi Tuskers Kerala side.

However, it was not until 2012 that he got to make his IPL debut. When the Kochi players were put back into the auction pool, Steve Smith decided to go ahead with a base price of $200,000. But to his surprise, he found no bidders. Later though, the Pune Warriors team roped him in, and he got an opportunity to prove his worth.

Ever since then, there has been no looking back for the former Australia captain. Steve Smith turned out to be one of the most vital players for the franchise and scored 362 runs from 15 matches at an average of 40.22 and strike rate of 135.88 that season. Despite his highest score being just 47* in 2012, he still remained an important part of the line-up.