'Why aren't you a bowler?' - Sam Billings reveals how his girlfriend trolled him after he went unsold in the IPL 2021 auction

Sam Billings has been one of the most unlucky players of his time. The talented wicketkeeper-batsman has been sitting on the benches of the English team for the last few years. With the presence of Jos Buttler and other players in their mix, Billings’ career hasn’t taken off in the international circuit because of a lack of opportunities. 

On Thursday, Billings faced another moment of tough luck when he went unsold in the IPL 2021 auction. He had surprisingly kept his base price at INR 2.0 crores, much higher than of the other wicketkeepers in his set. His high base price along with the lack of want for wicket-keepers resulted in him going unsold. 

Sam Billings shows his humorous side

After his bidding was completed, Billings, showing sportsman spirit, took to Twitter and uploaded a tweet. In the tweet, he revealed that after he went unsold at the auction, his girlfriend trolled him by asking why he couldn’t become a bowler. Billings’ tweet read, “My girlfriend Sarah just turns to me and goes… ‘why aren’t you a bowler?’”

My girlfriend Sarah just turns to me and goes… ‘why aren’t you a bowler?’ 🤣

— Sam Billings (@sambillings) February 18, 2021

The IPL auction saw all-rounders and fast-bowlers in huge demand. For instance, Australia’s pacer Jhye Richardson was sold to Punjab Kings for INR 14 crores. Chris Morris, the South African bowling all-rounder, was sold for a record INR 16.25 crores to Rajasthan Royals. 

Considering what Sam Billings has done in T20s for England and his county team, Kent, it seemed a little weird that he didn’t find any bidders in the IPL auction. He also played for the Sydney Thunder in the recently concluded Big Bash League 2020-21. In that tournament, his numbers as a wicket-keeper and batsman were pretty decent. 

After the tweet from Billings came, some of the Indian fans assured him that he might get picked during the second round. In 187 T20 matches, he has scored 3527 runs at a batting average of 23.67. His batting strike rate has been 131.01. He was previously picked up by Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 IPL auction. Before that, he had represented Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the IPL.