IPL 2018 Auction: 5 Indian players who might go unsold

For the first time in the 11-year history of the Indian Premier League, perhaps, is its auction generating so much buzz. New teams, new captains, new rules, new venues - everything about the forthcoming edition looks exciting.

However, with the emergence of some young guns who have been performing consistently well in the domestic and international scene, some of the veteran players might find themselves unsold at the auctions that will be held on January 27 and 28 in Bengaluru. Here we list 5 players who may have to watch the tournament from their homes.

Cheteshwar Pujara

The Indian Test team’s no. 3 batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara has played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab in previous editions of the IPL. However, his shots were deemed to better suit the longer format of the game and he has never been able to untag himself as a Test specialist.

His IPL career average of just about 20 is under the scanner but a strike rate of 99.74 is not too bad. The Saurashtra batsman, who is a regular in the national Test team, went unsold in both the 2016 and 2017 auctions, and given that he still hasn’t opened his T20I account, his IPL comeback looks unlikely this year as well.

Munaf Patel

Patel played only two games for GL last year. Photo - NDTV

The name Munaf Patel was associated with express pace when the quick first burst onto the scene.

But owing to frequent injuries, the 30-year-old’s pace and career started to get affected. In the first three editions of the IPL, Patel served as an important member in the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling attack.

In the fourth edition, was s signed on by the Mumbai Indians where his performances were decent. Prior to IPL 2017, Patel's last game in the IPL was in 2013, when he was fielded by MI against Chennai Super Kings.

Due to dismal performances, the tall Baroda pacer went unsold in the next four editions but was picked up by Gujarat Lions for Rs 30 lakh in the IPL 2017 auction. However, he couldn’t make the most of this opportunity as he managed only a solitary wicket from the two games he was given to play. Loss of form and pace is likely to keep Patel out of the IPL 11.

Ishant Sharma

At the IPL 2017 auctions, Ishant Sharma was not the first choice for any of the franchises due to his poor form. He had put his base price at Rs. 2 crore at a time when he was considered fit only for the longest format.

Initially ignored by all franchises at the auction, the tall and lanky pacer was later bought by Kings XI Punjab as a replacement for an injured Murali Vijay. Ishant played just six league matches for Punjab and ended being wicket-less.

In 2016 too, when he was with the Rising Pune Supergiant, he was largely unimpressive. He played only two matches before he was sidelined with an injury. His tendency to leak runs at an alarming rate can cost him an IPL entry this year.

Pragyan Ojha

With the emergence of players like Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah in the Mumbai Indians squad, some of their old players may not be able to retain a place in the squad in this edition of the tournament.

One such player is Pragyan Ojha.

The attacking slow left-arm orthodox bowler, who once formed an integral part of the MI set-up, went unsold the last two seasons. He last featured in the 2015 edition, in which he was played in only a solitary game. Ojha’s prospects in the forthcoming auctions do not look too bright.

Venugopal Rao

The Andhra Pradesh batsman scored a record 336 runs in IPL 2011

Having been associated with the Delhi Daredevils from 2008 to 2014, Venugopal Rao went completely missing from the IPL scene since 2015. Apart from 2011, in which he scored 336 runs from 14 innings, the middle-order batsman has been a disappointment in the tournament.

Besides IPL, the 35-year-old does not have much experience of playing limited-overs cricket. He played only 16 ODIs and India and no T20Is.

However, he has an impressive strike rate of 121.71 in 83 domestic T20 games. But with no recent records to boast of, and no place in Andhra’s team for the on-going Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, Rao’s IPL revival doesn’t look too promising.