IPL 2018: Legendary Indian pacer not included in players' auction list

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), today, announced the list of 578 players who will be going under the hammer for the auction in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League. It came in as a major surprise when the name of former Indian bowler, Zaheer Khan didn’t feature the list. Zaheer bid adieu to international cricket in late 2015 but has been playing IPL even post-retirement.

The Indian veteran shouldered responsibility as a captain for the Delhi Daredevils for the last two seasons and was believed to feature in the upcoming edition of the IPL before his name went missing from the auction players’ list, although there hasn’t been any official confirmation from his side on his plans to continue playing in the franchise-based league.

Could be in contention for a coaching role

Zaheer might also fancy himself for a highly paid job in this year’s IPL as a coach for any of the franchise. Most of the teams are in quest of finding a new coach, and who knows some would have already approached him for the same with any sort of official declaration still in the reckoning. Although there’s a slim chance of him continuing with his former team, Delhi, as they have announced Ricky Ponting as their head coach but the vacancy for the bowling coach, is still up for the grabs.

Zak could be a perfect match for the role of a bowling coach considering the amount of experience he brings to the table. Being one of the sharpest cricketing brains in Indian cricket and fondly known as ‘Gyanbaba’, the 39-year old would love to draw some inspirations and follow the footsteps of his former colleagues such as Ashish Nehra and Lakshmipathy Balaji, who are also indulged in coaching duties for their respective franchise in this year’s IPL.

As per BCCI’s announcement of 578 players for the auction, 360 of the lot are Indian with others being from foreign countries. The popularity of the league is evident with ten players registering from Afghanistan and a lone player from Ireland in the form of Paul Stirling. The much-anticipated auction is scheduled to take place on 27th and 28th January in Bengaluru.