IPL 2019: 3 unsold players who will miss the tournament for the first time since its inception 

After huge speculation about the venue for the 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced last month that this year’s edition would be held entirely in India. Though the fixtures are not announced yet, the upcoming edition is slated to begin from March 23.

The player auction for IPL 2019 was held on December 18, 2018. While some unknown players fetched big contracts, several star players went unsold in the auction. A few players have opted not to put their name under the hammer.

Among the unsold players, let us look at three players who will miss the tournament for the first time since its inception.

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#3 Saurabh Tiwary

Saurabh Tiwary had a brilliant IPL 2010 campaign

If a list of one-season IPL wonders is generated, then Saurabh Tiwary’s name will surely find a place in the list. Though Mumbai Indians bought him in the inaugural season, he was not a regular in the playing XI for the first two seasons.

His breakthrough season came in the third year as he ended the tournament as the eighth highest run-getter with 419 runs in 15 innings. He was one among the consistent performers for the franchise as he notched up three 50+ scores with a decent strike rate of 135.39.

Impressed by his exploits, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought him for a massive sum of USD 1.6 million in the 2011 IPL auction. However, he turned out to be a yet another flop signing for the Bangalore franchise. In his three years (2011-13) at RCB, Tiwary had managed to score just a solitary half-century from 40 matches.

With his form hitting rock bottom, Delhi Daredevils bought him for mere INR 70 Lakhs during the 2014 IPL auction. He missed the entire 2014 edition due to injury and managed to play just seven games for the franchise in the 2015 season.

In 2016, he played for Rising Pune Supergiant and scored 170 runs in 10 matches with two 50+ scores. Mumbai Indians repurchased him in the 2017 auction, and he cracked a half-century in his only appearance of that season. He failed to get a single game in the 2018 edition and was released by the franchise ahead of this year’s auction.

Once dubbed as a left-handed version of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (due to his long hair and exploits in 2010 season), Tiwary went unsold for the first time in this year’s auction.

#2 Vinay Kumar

Vinay Kumar's productive years in IPL came during his stint with RCB

Vinay Kumar started his IPL journey with RCB, as he represented his hometown franchise for the first three seasons. In 2011, he served Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) for their first and only season in the IPL history. Later, he moved back to RCB for the 2012 & 2013 editions.

In the 2014 edition, he represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who traded him to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2015 IPL auction. Even though Vinay Kumar played 13 matches for Mumbai in the 2015 season, he managed to feature in only four games in his next two years (2016-17) with the Mumbai franchise.

Vinay Kumar rejoined with the KKR franchise for the 2018 season, which ended as a disaster for him. His inability to defend 17 runs in the last over against CSK in one of the league games received too many criticisms. As a result, he lost his place in the playing XI and played only two matches in the entire 2018 season.

Overall, Vinay Kumar’s best seasons in the IPL had always come from his hometown franchise. In particular, the 2013 season was the best in his career as he claimed 23 wickets from 16 matches.

#1 Brendon McCullum

McCullum set the benchmark for IPL with his emphatic knock of 158 runs in the inaugural match of IPL

Brendon McCullum kick-started the inaugural season of IPL in his very own fashion. It was a fairytale beginning for the world’s premier T20 tournament. His blitzkrieg 158 runs from 73 balls with 13 huge maximums in the inaugural match of IPL set the tone for the iconic competition.

The former Kiwi skipper represented KKR in his first three years of IPL. He even captained the franchise in the second edition. Just like Vinay Kumar, McCullum too served KTK in the 2011 season and smashed 357 runs in 13 games. He rejoined with his KKR franchise for the next two seasons (2012-13).

Baz’s (as he fondly called) peak years in IPL coincided with his association with CSK. His partnerships with Dwayne Smith at the top of the order were instrumental in CSK’s campaign during the 2014 and 2015 editions. In fact, he registered his second century in IPL during his stay with CSK in the 2015 season.

With the suspension of CSK, Baz represented Gujarat Lions in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In both the seasons, he made decent contributions with the bat throughout the tournament. 2018 edition was a disaster for Baz as he joined the infamous list of flop signings of RCB.

In his 11-year long IPL career, McCullum has amassed 2881 runs from 109 matches with 13 half-centuries and two centuries. After a snub in the 2019 IPL auction, McCullum brought down curtains to his 8-year long Big Bash League (BBL) career with Brisbane Heat.

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