IPL Auction 2020: 3 released overseas players who might go unsold

With less than a month left for the Indian Premier League auction, the preparations for the event have already started gathering pace with all the franchises pondering over the players that they need to target at the auction next month. All the teams are now left with a specific number of overseas slots for which they can bid for in the IPL auction.

Royal Challengers Bangalore enjoy a luxury 6 overseas slots available to them in the auction. While quite settled in terms of their squads ahead of the new season, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Chennai Super Kings have only a couple of overseas slots heading into the auction.

Though it is a mini-auction with teams looking to fill in the voids in their retained squads, it will still be exciting to watch as some of the best domestic overseas talents go under the hammer in the auction.

The franchises have also identified and released their underutilized overseas recruits from last season as they return into the auction. The release of some of the players including the likes of Chris Lynn, Marcus Stoinis, and Sam Curran does come as a surprise, but teams might look to go after them hoping to avail their services at a lower auction price.

It is also likely that some of these players will not get bids from the franchises and go unsold at the auction on December 19. Here, we take a look at 3 released overseas players who might go unsold in the IPL Auction 2020.

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#3 Heinrich Klaasen

The South African wicket-keeper batsman, Heinrich Klaasen, arrived onto the T20 scene due to his hard-hitting abilities in the format.

However, Klaasen, who was released by RCB ahead of IPL auction 2020, had a disappointing outing with the franchise as he failed to grab the chances that came his way. He played only three games during the fag end of the tournament in what was an awful run for the Kohli-led side in 2019, and scored only nine runs, doing no justice to his reputation of a dasher of the cricket ball.

Now when he returns in the IPL auction, Klaasen might go unsold as teams might overlook his profile as a wicket-keeper batsman to consider some of the young emerging talents who have made the right noises for them to be given an opportunity in the upcoming edition.

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Even last year, the 28-year old was looked at as a back-up option who failed to break into the side on a regular basis. And with a limitation in the available overseas slots, franchises might want to invest in an overseas player who could make the playing XI rather than as a back-up to any wicket-keeper.

#2 David Willey

Willey might struggle to induce a bid in IPL auction 2020

The English limited-overs all-rounder, David Willey has been out of favour with the national squad ever since his omission from England's World Cup squad. The left-arm seam bowling all-rounder has faced stiff competition from his contemporaries resulting in his ouster from England's white-ball setup.

In the past six months or so, he hasn't produced any enthralling performances to allow his way back into the national side. Even in IPL 2019, after being retained by Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 12th season, Willey pulled out of the entire season due to personal reasons.

Before this year's auction, CSK decided to move on as they released the 29-year old after his failure to produce any notable performances to justify his place in the team.

The all-rounder will now enter the auction table hoping to induce a bid from any of the franchises. However, given his skill-set and what he offers with his all-round skills, the teams might turn down his services and opt for a better option with the abundant talent available at their disposal.

#1 Joe Denly

Denly scored a golden duck in his first IPL outing

England's Test specialist, Joe Denly, who's looking to establish himself as a reliable No.3 for his country in the Test setup, hasn't had anything to offer at the IPL in all these years of the league. The right-handed batsman, who was renowned for his hard-hitting abilities at the start of his career, has gradually made the shift from white-ball cricket to the longest version of the game.

Denly is no longer a potent option in T20s and his omission from KKR's retained players for IPL 2020 was an assertion to the same fact. After playing a solitary game in IPL 2019, Denly was released after he did no good to the franchise in the last season.

In the upcoming auction in Kolkata, it is almost certain that the 33-year old will return unsold for his lack of reputation as a T20 specialist. With his declining penchant for T20 cricket, it would be really surprising if Denly is able to obtain a bid in the upcoming auction.