IPL 2018: 5 popular Indian fast bowlers who we may not see in again in the IPL

Quality Indian fast bowlers are important to the success of a franchise in the IPL. In the past, we have witnessed the role played by Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, RP Singh, and Umesh Yadav in the success of their franchises. With 23 wickets, RP Singh was instrumental in Deccan Chargers' title win in 2009; Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a big part in Sunrisers Hyderabad's title win in 2016 with 23 wickets; Jasprit Bumrah's played a major role in Mumbai Indians' success last season with 20 wickets.

Franchises obviously understood the value of a good Indian seamer in their ranks and as a result, many of the Indian fast bowlers went for a huge price in the 2018 auction. Players like Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Shadul Thakur, and Shivam Mavi were sold for a lot of money.

The ones on this list are some of the best fast bowlers to have played for India but went unsold in the 2018 auction. They had their moments in the past IPL tournaments, but are clearly past their prime. It will be really hard for them to make a comeback given the number of young talents India have.

Let’s take a look at the popular Indian fast bowlers who we may not see in IPL again.

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#5 Ashok Dinda

Dinda never settled in any franchise

The Bengal seamer has been one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit for a long time and has picked up more than 500 wickets for Bengal. Dinda has played 13 One Day Internationals and 9 Twenty20I for India.

He has represented franchises like Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Rising Pune Supergiant, in IPL. The 34-year-old has played 78 games in IPL so far and picked up 68 wickets at an economy of 8.22.

Dinda struggled to adapt himself to the demands of T20 format and only twice played more than 10 games in a season. With one wicket from three games, he was really poor in 2017 and found no suitors in the 2018 auction. Given his age, it will be really hard for him to make a comeback.

#4 Munaf Patel

Injuries hampered Munaf's career

Munaf Patel was once India’s best bowler in the limited overs format, but he was part of a dubious list of players whose names were not even called out during the 2018 auction.

Having made his debut in 2006, Munaf troubled some of the best batsmen in the world with his raw pace. In an effort to consistently bowl fast, he suffered a lot of injuries. Patel has represented India in 13 Tests and 70 ODIs.

The 34-year-old has played 63 IPL games and picked up 74 wickets at an economy of 7.51. He has played only 6 games in the last 5 years and was not in the best of form. His last competitive action came in May 2017 and he missed the entire 2017/18 domestic season.

It was never a surprise that no franchise was ready to take a risk on him. It is highly unlikely to see him again in the Indian Premier League.

#3 Praveen Kumar

Praveen was one of India's best new ball bowlers

Praveen Kumar was one of the finest swing bowlers to have played for India. Despite his lack of pace, he troubled most batsmen in the world with his ability to move the ball both ways. Injuries and poor form have prevented him from making it big for India.

The 31-year-old has played 10 Tests, 68 One Day Internationals, and 10 Twenty20I for India, and picked up more than 100 wickets. Praveen has played in 119 IPL games and picked up 90 wickets at an economy of 7.72.

Praveen has represented franchises like Gujarat Lions, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, KXIP, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he did not play a lot of cricket this season and found no suitors in the 2018 auction.

#2 Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma could not make it tick in the limited-overs format

Ishant Sharma is one of India’s most successful bowlers in Tests. The 29-year-old has picked up 234 and 115 wicket for India in Tests and One Day Internationals respectively.

The Delhi bowler has played 76 games in his IPL career and picked up 59 wickets at an economy rate of 8.17. However, he went unsold in the 2018 auction, even at a base price of Rs 75 lakhs.

Though his overall IPL record does not look bad, Sharma was not effective in the last few IPL seasons. In the last four seasons, he has played only 17 games and picked up 7 wickets at an economy rate of almost 10.

In 2017, he could not pick up a single wicket in six games and conceded runs at an economy rate of 9.94. Throughout his career, he struggled with consistency in the limited overs format.

#1 Irfan Pathan

Pathan found no suitors in the 2018 auction

Irfan Pathan once fetched a price of $1.90 million in the IPL auction when Delhi Daredevils paid this huge sum of money for his services, in 2011. The 33-year-old has represented India in 26 Tests, 120 One Day Internationals, and 24 Twenty20I, and has picked up more than 300 wickets.

The Baroda seamer has played 172 T20 games in his career and picked up 169 wickets at an economy of 7.55. Pathan is a useful batsman as well and has scored more than 2500 runs in international cricket.

The Indian all-rounder is known for his abilities to swing the new ball, and is one of the best swing bowlers Indian cricket has ever produced. Pathan has played 103 games in IPL and has picked up 80 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77.

He has also scored more than 1000 runs. However, he has played only five games in the last three years and failed to pick up a single wicket.