Absolute shocker! TWO 100s, 420 runs at SR of 146 in IPL 2017 but no buyer?

IPL auction 2018 threw in quite a few surprises. Lesser-known names like D’Arcy Short and Mujeeb Zadran raked big bucks, but some of the notables could not pocket a penny.

The 5 biggest snubs from the auction were:

Lasith Malinga

Yes, there is no place for the toe-crusher Slinga Malinga, the King of Yorkers, in any IPL team. Malinga, for 10 years, was one of the most celebrated foreign players among IPL fans. If a match happened to be at Wankhede stadium, all you could see around was spectators donning Mallinga wigs. It is hard to digest that the most successful bowler in the history of IPL didn’t find a bidder. Those searing inswinging yorkers will be missed!

Thisara Perera

Thisara has made a reputation of a T20 specialist for himself. But, the reputation did not matter at the IPL auction 2018. The Sri Lankan makes an exciting lower order batsman and 5th bowling option, although in 37 matches of his IPL career, he could not make much of an impact.

Joe Root

Apparently, being a big name is not good enough. There is no way to explain why England’s Test captain did not get a single bid while his fellow countryman Ben Stokes fetched the highest. Root, has not shown a keen interest in the format of late, playing only four T20s in 2017. May be that’s the reason he was turned down by IPL franchises.

Hashim Amla

An absolute shocker this! Two 100s, 420 runs, batting average of 60, strike rate of 146 in IPL 2017. What else do you have to do to get picked? The South African, not the best known names when it comes to T20s, but the prolific season like 2017 should have changed that.

Moises Henriques

One of the architects of the Sunriser’s triumph in the previous edition of IPL, Moises Henriques, went unsold. In 12 matches last year, the all-rounder scored 277 runs in the middle order to lend Warner the support he needed when Shikhar Dhawan was misfiring. Henriques did not have a good tournament with the ball, but definitely deserved a look in.