Best XI from Unpicked Players in IPL 2024 Auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction, which took place in Dubai on Tuesday, saw a frenzy of high-stakes bidding battles as over 300 players were auctioned off. With 72 cricketers finding new homes among the ten franchises, the attention was on Australian players Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, who both signed multi-million-dollar contracts. Cummins signed a lucrative contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 20.50 crore, while Starc signed a lucrative contract with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 24.75 crore. Harshal Patel was the most expensive Indian player sold at INR 11.75 crore to Punjab Kings. But many players went unsold and some of the names were very surprising given their performances, record, and even their recent performance. Here's the best XI from unsold players in IPL 2024 auction: 1. Phil Salt (WK) Phil Salt. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL) England keeper-batter Phil Salt had hit two consecutive centuries in T20Is against West Indies with one coming just before the IPL 2024 auction. However, he failed to get any bidders for himself in the auction, and not only Salt but several other experts were shocked at him going unsold. In IPL 2023, for DC, he played 9 games, scoring 218 runs with 2 fifties and a strike rate of 163.91. It seems that not buying Salt might be a bad decision for franchises in hindsight especially when DC bought 5 wicketkeepers as Rishabh Pant’s backup. 2. Steve Smith MSD and Steve Smith RPS (Photo Source: Twitter) Steve Smith had skipped the IPL 2023 to prepare for the ICC World Cup that year. However, he entered the IPL 2024 auction for his base price of INR 2 crore. Smith, who once was a regular in IPL for Rajasthan Royals and even led the Rising Pune Supergiants to the IPL 2017 final, has not been part of the tournament since IPL 2021. The big reason has been Smith’s poor strike rate and inability to hit big shots. Smith hitting two consecutive centuries in the last BBL season might have given him hope of an IPL deal. However, with a strike rate of 128.09 in 103 IPL games for 2485 runs, none of the franchises were interested in bidding for Smith. 3. Manan Vohra Manan Vohra (Photo Source: Instagram) The Chandigarh-born Manan Vohra is an experienced IPL campaigner, having played 56 games. He amassed 1083 runs with the help of three fifties 95 being his best score. However, his lack of a high strike rate has always been a hindrance in franchises showing confidence in his skills. Vohra failed to find a buyer in the IPL 2024 mini-auction. 4. Karun Nair Karun Nair. (Photo Source: Twitter) Karun Nair was once the next best thing on the Indian cricket scene but he has not seen any upsurge in his career. Even a move from Karnataka in domestic cricket and some decent outings in home white-ball tournaments. He boasts of a good record in T20s, scoring 3207 runs in 157 games with 2 centuries and 18 fifties at a strike rate of 132.41. 5. Sarfaraz Khan Sarfaraz Khan was given the huge responsibility of keeping wickets by DC in the last IPL as they were missing Rishabh Pant. They hoped Sarfaraz would do justice to his spot with the bat and contribute with the gloves behind the stumps. However, he only got four games in which he scored 53 runs as his weakness against extreme pace was found out by the opposition. 6. Vivrant Sharma Vivrant Sharma. (Photo Source: X(Twitter) Vivrant Sharma played three games for SRH in IPL 2023 and made 69 runs in the only innings he got. He scored those runs at a strike rate of 146.80. Hailing from Jammu, Vivrant is an all-rounder who bowls leg-break. However, SRH in IPL 2023 was a mess as they tinkered with their combination a lot. Vivrant got mixed up in the melee and was released. But with limited spots in mini-auction, franchises passed on the opportunity to buy him. 7. Kamlesh Nagarkoti Kamlesh Nagarkoti in Delhi Capitals (Photo Source: Twitter) Kamlesh Nagarkoti is a promising pacer who was part of the 2018 U19 World Cup-winning team. While his teammate Shivam Mavi, Prithvi Shaw, and Shubman Gill have all made their India debuts, Nagarkoti has spent those years dealing with a lot of injuries. The major one that took almost two years of his life was a back stress fracture. He returned to action in IPL 2023 for Delhi Capitals, but he once again experienced the same issue. This has led to franchises steering clear of him, as he has not played any cricket since December 2022. 8. Murugan Ashwin Murugan Ashwin has been part of multiple franchises in his 44-game IPL career. His best outing was in IPL 2016 and 2019 when he played 10 games each. However, despite being one of the most promising spinners, who had done well in domestic cricket, Ashwin couldn’t attract any bidders for him in the IPL 2024 auction. Tough competition from younger spinners and a dip in form might be the reason for his exclusion. 9. Sandeep Warrier Sandeep Warrier is a known name in domestic cricket. He has 63 wickets in 72 T20 matches for Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He has also played in T20I for India against Sri Lanka. However, Warrier has never been a first-choice pacer in any of the IPL franchises he has played. He has mostly been called up as an injury replacement, resulting in his only 5 matches in IPL, with 2 wickets to show for. 10. Josh Hazlewood Josh Hazlewood (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL) Josh Hazlewood going unsold was a huge shock for many, similar to the fact that he was released by RCB before the IPL 2024 auction. However, Hazlewood has confirmed that he will miss the first half of the tournament as he is expecting his first child in May. This meant that none of the franchises showed interest in buying the ace Australian speedster. 11. Dushmantha Chameera Dushmantha Chameera was a star for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, where he picked 17 wickets in 12 games and bowled well over 150 clicks. But soon after he was plagued with injuries and went unsold in IPL 2023 auction. He then missed the Asia Cup 2023 and the majority of World Cup 2023 as he recovered from a shoulder and ankle injury. Given his tryst with injuries, franchises decided not to bid on him in IPL 2023 at least.