IPL 2018 Auction: 5 foreign stars who could miss out on being bought

As the festival of Uttarayan in India gets over, the festival of Indian Premier League (IPL) takes over. As the IPL 2018 Auctions is round the corner, buzz has started to be created over the availability and form of players.

The teams have started doing their homework over their choice of players after a not-so-surprising Vivo IPL 2018 retention. The retention went along expected lines, except a couple of surprising omissions and this has made the auctions further more exciting.

A lot of focus is on the form of players all around the world and the team management have started grinding their eyes over national and international tournaments. Various players like Jofra Archer, D'Arcy Short, Prithvi Shaw, Ben Dunk, Rashid Khan are already on the radar of these teams.

But here we look at some players who might have to face the brunt of the fast-paced nature of the tournament. Here is a look at some of the international star players of IPL who once used to be the superstars of this format, who might just be ignored this time round by the teams:

Chris Gayle

The 'universe boss' might not have a good time with the IPL franchises this time round as not only he has been out of form for West Indies at international level but has also not shown significant improvement with his play at the league front as well.

His batting average in IPL 2017 is almost twice less than his career average of IPL. A single fifty to his name in the previous edition of the tournament is itself evident of the fact that he has not been in the best form. The same was also justified by the RCB team franchise by not retaining him at the given opportunity.

This year we might not be able to see Chris Gayle's pyrotechnics that we witnessed for a decade in this tournament.

Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan (L)

The Irish-born Englishman has not been in form for England on the international level. The majority of the time he spent in the IPL was with the Kolkata Knight Riders, yet he couldn't earmark a strong place for himself with the team.

His batting average of 16.25 with the Kings XI Punjab in 2017 is evidence of his poor form in IPL. Although Morgan wasn't able to play a significant number of matches, the Kings would have loved to see a captain in him. His lack form right now, though, will not help him much.

Martin Guptill

New Zealand v Pakistan - 3rd ODI

There was a time he was considered New Zealand's best opening batsman, but now we can see him struggling for runs at the international arena. His stint with the Kings last year was possibly a miracle for him as he wasn't in the best of his form during that time either.

It won't be a surprise if we see no team willing to pay a sum for him considering his batting average of 22 in the previous edition, and the fact that he accrued a mere 132 runs off the 7 matches he played.

Shane Watson

Australia v India - Game 1

The big man from Australia hasn't really been able to perform when he is required the most. With the RCB last year, he took mere 5 wickets off 8 matches in which he bowled at a gruesome economy of 9.13.

He hasn't been good with the bat as well, scoring just 71 runs off 8 matches at a strike rate of 91. There used to be a time when teams would be fighting over all rounders like Watson who could bat in the top 4 as well as bowl during the power play and death overs, but his terrible form with both bat and ball, he might not attract a bid this year.

Lasith Malinga

Also known as the 'yorker king', Malinga has been out of touch, especially since the rise of young bowlers like Bumrah. Players have now decoded the method of playing his pinpoint yorkers and his terrible season with Mumbai last year is evidence of that.

He took just 11 wickets off the 12 matches he played at strike rate of 24.4 and a worrying bowling average of 34.7. This could well be the auction where we see Malinga being unsold.

These international stalwarts were the reasons why the IPL came into limelight since it's inauguration a decade ago, but the form of the players will a concern for their respective franchises as well as the international teams they are representing.

The T20 format is a gruesome form of cricket as it can bring you to great heights but can also doom you to hell when you are out of form. I still feel these players deserve a chance, though, as form is temporary but class is permanent.