IPL 2019: Three 2-crore players who are likely to go unsold at the auction

The BCCI on Wednesday announced that over 1,000 players have registered for the upcoming IPL auction, which is scheduled to be held at Jaipur on December 18. Later in the day, the base price of some reputed names was revealed too.

England and New Zealand all-rounders, Sam Curran and Corey Anderson, the Sri Lankan duo of Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews, former Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum, and a few others have been listed as part of the 2-crore club.

Meanwhile, left-arm pacer, Jaydev Unadkat is the only Indian player to feature in the 1.5-crore category. He was bought at a whopping amount of 11.5 crore by Rajasthan Royals during the last auction.

Pertinently, last season discards Yuvraj Singh, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammad Shami have all joined the 1-crore price band.

With only 70 slots to be contested and teams having a lesser purse remaining for the auction, some big names might well go unsold. In this article, we look at three players from the 2-crore club who are most likely to find no buyers at the auction

#3 Lasith Malinga

Veteran Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who was part of Mumbai Indians coaching staff last year, opting to join the 2-crore club. That came as a surprise to many as the 35-year-old is at the fag end of his career.

He recently had to stay away from the field for over a year due to persistent injuries.

The former Sri Lankan skipper returned to international cricket in September this year, taking four wickets against Bangladesh in the very first match. He continued to impress thereafter, scalping a five-for in the second Sri-Lanka-England ODI at Dambulla.

But Malinga, who is known for his deadly yorkers, might go unsold at the auction due to his huge base price.

Franchises mostly opt for young and fit players, especially when it comes to picking bowlers. Both those things are not with the pacer at the present time.

#2 Angelo Mathews

Another Sri Lankan cricketer who has been around for a long time now, Angelo Mathews also features in the 2-crore club. Having formerly led Sri Lanka in all the three formats, Mathews owns over 5000 Test and ODI runs apart from 33 and 114 wickets in the two formats respectively.

The all-rounder has previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.

The 31-year-old could also find no buyers at the auction. He has been quite inconsistent with his form lately, and it's never easy to impress IPL franchises - especially when you are deemed to have already passed the prime of your career.

#1 Brendon McCullum

When thinking about the shortest formats of cricket, names like Brendon McCullum come to the mind immediately. However, the former Kiwi captain hasn't shown the touch he is known for in recent times. He has failed to convert his starts into big scores lately.

The right-handed batsman also had a forgettable IPL 2018 for RCB, scoring a meager 127 runs in 6 matches at an average of 21. Owing to these figures and his mega base-price, McCullum is likely to go unsold at the auction.

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