5 players who were surprisingly unsold at the IPL 2024 auction

The much-hyped Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction was held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Tuesday. While a total of 332 players were shortlisted to go under the hammer, 72 players ended up being sold, with 30 being overseas cricketers. The 10 franchises combined spent a whopping sum of ₹230.45 crore at the IPL auction.

Several players, both overseas and Indian, were purchased for exorbitant sums during the bidding process. Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc shattered the record for the most expensive purchase in the history of the IPL auction. He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for ₹24.75 crore. Another Aussie, Pat Cummins, became the second-most expensive purchase in the IPL auction. He was sold to SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for ₹20.50 crore.

While many players were sold for big sums at the IPL 2024 auction, a few cricketers were somewhat surprisingly unsold. We look at five such players from the list.

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#1 Philip Salt

England keeper-batter Philip Salt (Pic: Getty Images)

England’s aggressive wicketkeeper-batter Philip Salt had put his name up for the IPL auction at a base price of ₹1.50 crore.

However, he found no takers. And just hours after going unsold, he clobbered 119 off 57 balls in the fourth T20I against West Indies in Trinidad. Salt’s blazing innings featured seven fours and 10 sixes as England squared the five-match series 2-2.

“It was a confusing morning. I was expecting to be picked up, having gone there last year and done well, and the year that I’ve had,” Salt was quoted as saying by The Telegraph over his IPL snub.

The 27-year-old represented Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2023, scoring 218 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 163.91 with two half-centuries.

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#2 Josh Inglis

Australian keeper-batter Josh Inglis (Pic: Getty Images)

Australia’s hard-hitting keeper-batter Josh Inglis also did not find any takers. He had placed his name in the highest base price category of ₹2 crore.

The 28-year-old is a highly destructive batter in the T20 format. Inglis gave glimpses of his talent during the T20I series in India recently when he slammed 110 off 50 balls in Visakhapatnam with the aid of 11 fours and as many as eight sixes.

Inglis has an impressive record in the T20 format. In 105 matches, he has notched up 2,623 runs at an average of 31.22 and a strike rate of 148.86 with three hundreds and 16 fifties.

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#3 Colin Munro

Experienced New Zealand batter Colin Munro (Pic: Getty Images)

Veteran New Zealand batter Colin Munro also went unsold at the IPL 2024 auction with franchises ignoring his impressive recent form with the willow.

The aggressive southpaw last featured in the IPL in 2019. Rather surprisingly, he has only played 13 matches in the Indian T20 league, scoring 177 runs at a strike rate of 125.53.

Munro is in high demand among other T20 leagues across the globe for his big-hitting skills. He is currently representing Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League and clubbed 99* off 61 in the tournament opener against Melbourne Stars.

The 36-year-old has the experience of playing 403 T20 matches, having scored 10,367 runs at a strike rate of 142.13 with five hundreds.

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#4 Tabraiz Shamsi

South African left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (Pic: Getty Images)

South African left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi is one of the finest T20 spinners in international cricket at present.

It is a mystery why IPL franchises keep ignoring him time and again. Shamsi had put his name up for the auction at a reasonable base price of ₹50 lakh but went unsold.

The 33-year-old has played only five matches in the IPL, the last of which was during the 2021 season. He has claimed three wickets in the T20 league at an average of 60.33 and an economy rate of 9.05.

Shamsi possesses an excellent record for the Proteas in T20Is. In 65 matches, he has claimed 78 wickets at an average of 22.20 and an economy rate of 7.38.

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#5 Brandon King

West Indies opener Brandon King (Pic: Getty Images)

West Indian opening batter Brandon King also went unsold at the IPL 2024 auction. Like Shamsi, he too was part of the ₹50 lakh category, but the franchises did not show any interest in picking him up.

King (29) can be exceptional with the willow on his day. He recently smashed 82* off 52 in the second T20I against England in Grenada.

King has played 122 T20 matches so far, scoring 2,936 runs at a strike rate of 133.03 with two hundreds and 19 fifties. He could have been a smart pick at his base price, but the franchises thought otherwise.