IPL 2018 auction: An XI of top players who went unsold

Middle order

Joe Root

England’s Test captain, who’s never played T20 leagues around the world surprisingly went unsold in the players’ auction. Known to play in a more orthodox fashion, Root didn’t find any takers among the eight franchises.

The withdrawal from England’s T20I squad against Australia and New Zealand in the tri-series didn’t help his cause either.

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Shaun Marsh

One of the key batsmen in Kings XI Punjab line up for the past 10 years, the franchise showed no interest in picking the Australian Shaun Marsh this time around.

The stylish left-hander scored 264 runs last season including a couple of fifties. One eye on the future has been the mantra of most IPL sides and that might have gone against the 34- year old.

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Travis Head

The Australian left-handed batsman who played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2017 season was surprisingly unsold during the player auctions.

Known for his pyrotechnics in the shortest format of the game and for someone who is a big hit in the Australian T20 league, the choice of not picking him might be due to the left hander’s struggle against slow bowling.