Indian Premier League Auctions for the 2021 edition of the competition will take place on February 18th. Chennai will host the event that will start at 3 pm on Thursday. Although the talent pool going under the hammer will be minimal, like every time, fans would be excited to witness the proceedings.
Apart from cricket, commerce is also equally involved in IPL. Sometimes, for this reason alone, teams go for a particular player at the auctions. While that’s a rare scenario, in most cases, it will be the teams targeting the players that will fit their squads. Popular players do not always reciprocate into performances. Hence, a few of them could go unsold at the auctions. We talk about five players who may not get a bid at the event.
1. Harbhajan Singh
Although he recently stated that he was fit and ready to play in IPL 2021, Harbhajan Singh might still not be confident of securing a contract at the auction. In 2018 and 2019, though he did well, the overall review of his performance was average. Since then, Bhajji has not been active in competitive cricket, thereby casting doubts on whether he can be useful to IPL franchises. Moreover, the Punjab spinner has a base price of INR 2 crores, a sum which can be used to sign a couple of good domestic uncapped spinners. Hence, we feel Harbhajan could go unsold at the auctions.
2. Cheteshwar Pujara
A pillar of the Indian Test Team, Cheteshwar Pujara has so far not been able to make a mark in the white-ball format. In IPL, Pujara has played for teams like KKR and RCB in the past. However, his record was not great and owing to his low strike-rate, teams started ignoring the Saurashtra man at the auctions. While many feel that after a good tour of Australia, Pujara could play in IPL, the road still seems tough for India’s Test No.3. Teams prefer new age T20 power-hitters, but Pujara does not fall in that category. He is more of an anchor, a slot that has already been taken in most teams.
3. Aaron Finch
A top limited-overs batsman, Aaron Finch has not enjoyed playing in IPL. He has played for multiple franchises but has still not made an impact. Last season, he struggled severely for RCB. He was out of touch and failed to provide the brisk starts that he is known for. Although he reversed his form in the series against India, Finch did not have a great BBL after that. He had a poor run and was one of the surprise non-performers in the competition. With players like Jason Roy, Dawid Malan and Glenn Maxwell in the pool, teams may not consider Finch as their first option.
4. Martin Guptill
Martin Guptill has not had a good opportunity to showcase his skills in IPL. In whatever chances he got, the Kiwi was underwhelming. A popular name in world cricket, Guptill’s form for New Zealand is also not extra-ordinary. Hence, he might not make the cut at the auctions. Similar to Finch, Guptill must fight the likes of Jason Roy and Steve Smith to land a contract and that looks very unlikely of happening at the moment.
5. James Neesham
We have another Kiwi on the list – James Neesham. One of the premier all-rounders in world cricket, the player represented KXIP last season. He did get a few games but was not in good form. That might put his chances of playing IPL cricket in danger. A foreign all-rounder needs to be excellent in at least one department. Neesham’s big-hitting skills are not on par with the likes of Pollard and Russell while his bowling lacks the edge of players like Bravo. Hence, he might be unsold at the auctions.
