Dale Steyn has a piece of advice for the unsold players at IPL auction

It was an exciting and super Monday for all the cricket fans. The biggest carnival of cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL), took center stage on the day. It was the day of IPL 2017 auctions. While most people talked about the big buys of the tournament, South African speedster Dale Steyn had a word of advice for the ones who missed out. Some of the players made the headlines by bagging rich deals. English players were the top picks on the day with Ben Stokes bagging INR 14.5 crore and Tymal Mills bagging INR 12 crore at the auction.

It was a historic occasion for the Afghanistan players as well. Mohammad Nabi and young bowler Rashid Khan bagged IPL contracts with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Indian domestic stars made big jumps too with the likes of Mohammad Siraj earning big value for their trade at the auction. Amidst all the brouhaha about the top buys, people forgot to notice the ones who missed out on being picked at the auctions this year.

One of the biggest surprises was leggie Imran Tahir. Tahir is the number one ranked bowler in ODIs and T20I formats. However, he found no takers on the day. While two Afghan players made merry, there was another in Mohammad Shahzad, who could not attract any bidders. Time and again, Shahzad had expressed his desire to play in the team same as his role model MS Dhoni. Among the other big names who were not picked include Ross Taylor, Alex Hales, Irfan Pathan, Brad Hogg, Kyle Abbott, Jonny Bairstow and the list goes long.

Dale Steyn, who played for Gujarat Lions last year, pulled out of the tournament this year. He, however, sympathized with the ones who were not picked. It can actually be very disheartening for a player to get in the auction pool but not get picked. Steyn took to Twitter and advised the unlucky ones to stay strong. He wrote, “Plenty hours spent on strategies going into IPL auction & interesting watching it unfold. Always tough for those not bought… Stay strong!”

Plenty hours spent on strategies going into IPL auction & interesting watching it unfold. Always tough for those not bought… Stay strong!

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) February 20, 2017