5 Released players who may go unsold in IPL 2021 auctions

On January 20, 2021, all the Indian Premier League teams submitted their list of released and retained players ahead of the 2021 auctions. Some retained players were a surprise, considering the cloud around them leaving the IPL franchise. In addition, there were some releases which raised the eyebrows of many fans. 

As the IPL auctions for the 2021 season will be taking place in the month of February, mostly all the franchises might be looking for players from the new pool of names and may also look at the players being released from the other franchises. There is no doubt that players like Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell will once again be bought at high prices. 

But, there are obviously few of those released players who might not be on the radar of the franchises. Players with poor records in IPL, bad form or international commitments, might be the ones who won’t attract many buyers during the auctions. Let’s take a look at them-

5 released players who may go unsold in IPL 2021 auctions: 

1. Nathan Coulter-Nile

It was quite surprising to see the Australia fast-bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile not be retained by the Mumbai Indians team ahead of the IPL auctions 2021. Even though he didn’t have the greatest of seasons with the ball, he did bowl a key spell during the side’s victory in the final. In addition to that, the Western Australian pacer is regarded as one of the best in the shortest format. 

His IPL records also read well. In 33 matches, he has taken 41 wickets and has a strike rate of 17. However, with all his experience, pace and quality bowling, there is a catch. The pacer has a long history with injuries. Coulter-Nile has missed several series and matches, due to injuries. He has had some freakish injuries in the past, which often ruled him out from the IPL. 

Even in the 2020 season, he missed a few matches initially, as he was injured. In 2018, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore, only to step out due to an injury. He had gone for big money in the 2020 auctions, but franchises might run out of patience of to have a bowler with such a history of injuries.