IPL 2020: 5 Unsold players who shouldn't take part in the auction from 2021 onwards

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is big enough platform where a number of players from around the cricket globe try their luck out. It’s a tournament, which has shaped up a number of careers ever since the first edition way back in 2018.

The league is now set for it’s 13th edition and the auction for the T20 extravaganza took place on Thursday, December 19 at the City of Joy, Kolkata. As many as 338 players were set to go under the hammer for 73 slots to be filled. The franchises splurged some massive amounts on a few players.

In the meantime, a number of cricketers couldn’t bag a deal. Out of the unsold players there are a few names, whose IPL careers may have witnessed an end. Hence, those players should go for a second thought while taking part in the 2021 auction.

In the article, let’s take a look at five cricketers, who shouldn’t take part from the 2021 Auction onwards:-  

Cheteshwar Pujara

There’s no doubt that Cheteshwar Pujara is one of the stalwarts of the Indian Test side. The Saurashtra batter has the temperament to grill and grind for hours, and stave off the best of bowling attacks. However, even as his Test career for India has flourished, his limited-overs career never took off.

The rub of the green hasn’t gone in his favour even in the cash-rich and prestigious T20 league. He had the privilege of playing alongside Sourav Ganguly in Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in his maiden IPL season in 2010. Then in 30 matches, Pujara could only manage 390 runs.

In 2014, he last played in the IPL for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Ever since, the 31-year-old has gone unsold and it wasn’t any different even this time around. For the time being, it seems like the end of Pujara’s IPL career.

Shaun Marsh

Back in 2008, Shaun Marsh was the leading run-scorer in the IPL, representing the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The southpaw scored 616 runs at 68.44 and the performances helped him break into the Australian national team. Thereafter, he had his fair share of success in the T20 league.

In 71 matches, for the same franchise, Marsh ended up scoring 2477 runs at an average of 39.95. Going into the 2018 season, the Punjab franchise released him and he remained unsold at a base price of INR 1.50 crores. Same was the case in 2019 when he didn’t find a buyer at a base price of INR 2 crore.

Even for 2020, the veteran southpaw registered himself at 1.50 crore. This time around his name wasn’t even called up. Marsh is 36 and he may already have played his last IPL game.

James Faulkner

James Faulkner made his debut in the IPL way back in 2011 for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Back then, he was a youngster and brimming with confidence. The left-armer didn’t have pace, but used to outfox the batsmen without much fuss. He could’ve been trusted to get wickets at any stage of the game.

But after a few seasons, Faulkner experienced a slump from where he could hardly recover. The Tasmania-born doesn’t even get much chances in the Big Bash League (BBL), such has been his downfall. In 60 IPL matches, Faulkner has managed 527 runs and 59 wickets.

He last played for the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 edition of the T20 tournament, For the upcoming edition, he had a base price of INR 50 lakhs, but remained unsold. Barring something miraculous, it will be hard for him to play another IPL game.

Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews was deemed as the next big thing in Sri Lanka cricket. After making his international debut in 2008, the Colombo-born forayed into the IPL, playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Even as he played a few decent knocks for the Knights, he couldn’t be consistent enough.

The Knights eventually released him and Mathews went on to play for Delhi Daredevils (DD) and Rising Pune Supergiant. But after the Daredevils, now Capitals, released him, Mathews hasn’t taken part in the prestigious T20 league.

It furrowed a lot of eyebrows when the 32-year-old all-rounder registered himself in the auction at a base price of INR 2 Crore. And it didn’t come as a surprise that Mathews returned without a deal. In fact, his name wasn’t even called out.

Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim is one of the most reliable middle-order batsmen and has shown his sheer class time and again. In T20 cricket, the Bogra-born has over 3,500 runs at a strike-rate of 127.99, numbers which aren’t dismissible by any means.

He is currently playing for the Khulna Tigers in the BPL 2019-20 and turned up with a knock of 96 off 51 balls, helping his side to a stupendous victory. Prior to that, the 32-year-old got a match-winning 60* against India. As far as the IPL is concerned, luck hasn’t quite favoured Mushfiqur.

He has taken part in the auction a few times. This time around Mushfiqur had a base price of INR 75 lakhs. Yet he remained unsold. Earlier he opted out at the auction, but returned after request from the franchises. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever play in the IPL.