IPL Auction 2020: 5 top players who could go unsold

The IPL auction 2020 is just a couple of days away, and the entire cricket universe is awaiting the event with utmost excitement. The eight franchises had announced their respective lists of retained and released players last month and by now, every team management would have prepared their game plan for the auction.

Kolkata will host this year's event which will officially kick off the road to IPL 2020.

Over the years, the IPL auction has produced several surprises. The fans have witnessed several unknown players receiving mega bids, while there have also been instances where legends of the game have gone unsold.

The cricket fraternity expects the IPL 2020 auction to follow the same pattern once again. On that note, here is a look at five top players who could find themselves in the unsold players' list this year.

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#5 Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh

Australia’s left-handed middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh captured the cricket world’s attention by winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2008. He stayed a prominent name in the league for quite a while, but has attracted no bids in the auction since 2018.

Though the 36-year-old has not played an IPL match in the last two years, he has kept a base price of ₹1.5 crore for himself. Besides, his last T20I appearance for Australia came way back in January 2016.

Thus, Marsh is likely to go unsold once again despite having scored nearly 2,500 runs in the previous IPL tournaments. None of the franchises need a foreign middle-order batsman as they have already stacked up their batting line-ups with some well-established stars.

#4 Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews

Former Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews raised quite a few eyebrows by setting his base price at ₹2 crore. The 32-year-old veteran last played an IPL match in May 2017, and his high base price has been one of the reasons behind his absence from the league.

Mathews has played 49 IPL matches in his career and aggregated 724 runs at a strike rate of 125.91. With the ball, he has scalped 27 wickets while giving away runs at an economy rate of 8.18.

Mathews has been out of his nation's T20 squad since 2018. Thus, it made little sense for him to set his base price so high.

The franchises always look to sign all-rounders in the auction. However, as the Colombo-born star will fall in the overseas category, not many would be interested in grabbing his services.

Taking a closer look at his statistics, one can notice that he has only recorded one half-century in the 42 innings he has played. Also, he has a bowling average of 39.96, which is below-par for a medium-fast bowler in T20 cricket.

#3 Thisara Perera

Thisara Perera

Another former Sri Lankan captain to feature in this list is the 30-year-old all-rounder, Thisara Perera. The Colombo-born player has always been a darling of IPL franchises because of his big-hitting power. He can also bowl a few overs of right-arm medium pace in the middle.

Perera earned a contract from the Chennai Super Kings first. After CSK released him, he played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiant.

The reason why so many franchises have released Perera is his inconsistency. He has played 37 IPL matches in his career but has never registered a fifty in the tournament. His highest score is 40 while his batting average is 19.18.

In the bowling department, the right-arm pacer has scalped 31 wickets. However, his economy rate of 8.73 shows that the batsmen have found it easy to take him to the cleaners.

Over three years have passed since the Sri Lankan all-rounder featured in an IPL match. And looking at his current form, it is unlikely that any franchise would want to invest in him this year.

#2 Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman

After impressing in his debut series against India, Mustafizur Rahman became a regular in the Bangladeshi team. His left-arm pace played a key role in the rise of Bangladesh cricket; he has played 37 T20I matches in his career, scalping 52 wickets at an economy rate of 7.88.

The Satkhira-born player has been a part of the two IPL franchises - Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. The 24-year-old has featured in 24 IPL games and picked up 24 wickets at an economy rate of 7.51.

Although his numbers are decent, the fast bowler has struggled with injury issues of late. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had instructed him to skip IPL 2019 so as to be fit for the 2019 World Cup.

Also, apart from Royal Challengers Bangalore, none of the franchises desperately need a foreign fast bowler. While many believe Rahman will get a bid in the IPL Auction 2020, it is unlikely that the franchises would show much interest in signing him on Thursday.

#1 Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson has impressed a lot of fans with his fast bowling in the shortest format of the game. He has represented his nation in 15 T20I games and taken 17 wickets at an economy rate of 7.98. His bowling strike rate of 19.76 shows that he can make breakthroughs at regular intervals.

Because of his fantastic performances with the ball, Richardson had earned a contract from Pune Warriors India in the IPL. He has even been a part of the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers in his brief IPL career. However, he has only got to play 14 IPL games where he has leaked runs at an economy rate of 8.38.

Richardson played his last IPL match way back in 2016 and has gone unsold in the previous couple of auctions. Because of the presence of Andrew Tye, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile in the auction pool, the chances that any team would seek the services of Richardson are very low.

Just like Mustafizur Rahman, the Australian pacer might possibly get a bid from Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, the availability of better options may keep the 28-year-old pacer away from the tourney once again.