3 Australian players who went unsold in the 2019 IPL auctions but were brilliant in BBL 2018-19 

With every passing year, Big Bash League (BBL) is getting bigger and better. BBL 08 turned out to be yet another successful season for Cricket Australia. From Zing bails to bat-flip, CA has found success in everything they tried in BBL.

However, a little more than two months ago, some of the BBL stars went unsold in the 2019 IPL auctions. Much to the disappointment of the players, the auction for IPL 2019 was conducted before the commencement of BBL 08. Among the unsold players, let us look at three players who performed exceptionally well in this year’s BBL.

Note: Matthew Wade’s name was not shortlisted in the final list of IPL 2019 player auction.

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#3 Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson played for RCB during IPL 2016

It has been six years since Kane Richardson made his international debut for Australia. Still, Richardson has not cemented his place in the Australian squad in any format. His last match in Australian colors came against England on June 27, 2018, in a one-off T20I.

With several injury concerns in the last few years, Richardson made a thumbing comeback in the recently concluded BBL. Playing for Melbourne Renegades, Richardson claimed 24 wickets in 14 games with a decent economy rate of 7.75. His impressive form with the ball is one of the factors behind Renegades winning their maiden trophy.

A successful BBL season has earned him a place in the Australia squad for their upcoming limited-overs tour to India. However, he went unsold in this year’s IPL auction, which happened before the start of BBL|08.

Earlier, Richardson had represented three different IPL franchises in his career - Pune Warriors India (2013), Rajasthan Royals (2014), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (2016). Overall, Richardson has played only 14 IPL games in three seasons. With the base price of INR 1 crore, Kane failed to attract any bidder in this year’s auction.

#2 D'Arcy Short

D'Arcy Short ended the tournament as the highest run-getter for the second consecutive season

D’Arcy Short came into the limelight on the back of some explosive performances in BBL|07. His blazing knocks at the top of the order for Hobart Hurricanes attracted the attention of Australian selectors and few IPL teams. He ended that tournament as the highest run-getter with 572 runs from 11 innings. Besides, he also won the ‘Player of the Series’ award.

As expected, he was quickly drafted into the Australian limited-overs setup. However, he had not tasted much success as he did in BBL. Soon, he was dropped from the Australian team.

In between, he earned his maiden IPL contract as Rajasthan Royals bought him for a massive sum in the 2018 IPL auction. However, he had a disappointing IPL debut campaign as he scored just 115 runs in seven games with a high score of 44. As a result, he was released by the Rajasthan franchise ahead of this year’s IPL auction.

Nevertheless, Short resumed this season’s BBL from where he left off last season. Once again, he along with his skipper, Matthew Wade, played several blistering knocks throughout the tournament. For the second consecutive season, Short finished the tournament as the highest run-scorer with 637 runs from 15 innings. Besides, he once again won the ‘Player of the Series’ award.

Just like Kane Richardson, Short also earned an international recall for the upcoming limited-overs tour to India. However, his poor showings in IPL 2018 and poor form before BBL 2018-19 had cost him an IPL contract this year.

#1 Daniel Christian

Christian had a fantastic BBL|08 campaign

Unlike Richardson and Short, Daniel Christian had a long IPL career. He started his IPL career with the now-defunct Deccan Chargers in 2011. He had a decent debut season as he scored 190 runs and claimed 11 wickets in 14 games during IPL 2011.

In the next season, he played only seven games as he scored 145 runs and took eight wickets. During the 2013 IPL auction, Royal Challengers Bangalore brought him for a sum of USD 100,000. However, he managed to feature in the playing XI for only two games during the 2013 IPL.

After a lengthy absence from IPL, he was finally bought by Rising Pune Supergiant during the IPL 2017 auction. Once again, he had an average IPL campaign as he managed to score 79 runs (from 9 innings) and snatched 11 wickets in 13 matches.

In the 2018 IPL auction, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) bought him for INR 1.5 crores. However, he once again struggled to feature in the playing XI as he managed to play only four games in the 2018 campaign.

Nevertheless, Christian played the perfect role of an ‘all-rounder’ for Melbourne Renegades in this BBL season. With the bat, he had scored 254 runs from 14 innings with the high score of 49. With the ball, he had claimed 15 wickets from 16 matches with the decent economy rate of 7.38. Moreover, Christian was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ in both the semi-final and final of BBL|08.

However, with the base price of INR 1 crore, Christian went unsold in this year’s IPL auction.

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