These five players might not get any bids in the upcoming IPL 2019 auction.
The list of players released and retained by each and every franchise of the Indian Premier League was confirmed on Thursday (Nov 15).
The auction for the upcoming season of the cash-rich T20 league will be held in December and the franchises were given a deadline to conclude their transfers and releases by 15 November.
Many big names were released by franchisees who will go back into the auction pool for the upcoming auction. However, given recent circumstances, form and fitness, some of these players may not get necessary or required attention from the bidders and may fail to find a team.
Team COC presents their five players who might fail to get a team in the auction.
Here are 5 released players who are unlikely to fetch a bid in the auction
COREY ANDERSON
New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson once used to hold the record for the fastest ODI century (in 36 balls) and was considered to be a bright prospect for the Kiwi side. He first played in IPL for Mumbai Indians in IPL 7 and was moderately successful for them.
Since then he has played for Delhi Daredevils and recently for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The big-hitting all-rounder played three matches for RCB and scored 17 runs and picked three wickets. He was torn to shreds in the match against CSK when MS Dhoni got stuck into him and took CSK to an improbable win.
Anderson has struggled with injuries and form over the last couple of years and has found it hard to hold onto his spot in the team despite being given a new contract with New Zealand cricket. Given such circumstances, Anderson will find it very difficult to find a buyer unless he brings his base price down a couple of notches.
ALEX HALES
Alex Hales finally got to play in IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018, as he was signed on as a replacement for David Warner. Earlier, Hales was part of Mumbai Indians but didn’t get to play a game. Hales scored 148 runs in 6 matches for SRH in IPL 2018 with a best of 45 and generally struggled with the spin upfront.
Hales is in plans of England board for the 2019 World Cup and ECB has announced that its players won’t be available for the last stages of the tournament. This will prove to be a hindrance when it comes to franchisees bidding for the England players in the upcoming auction and Alex Hales given his struggles against spinners, might find it difficult to find a bidder.
BRENDON McCULLUM
The man who lit up the IPL on its first night with a scintillating 158*, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum has always held a special place in the Indian Premier League thanks to his blizzard-like innings and his leadership qualities.
Unfortunately, since his retirement from international cricket in 2015, McCullum has found it hard to find form and keep it going. And add to this, his cavalier approach to opening the batting has resulted in more failures at the top than successes. His stint for RCB in IPL 2018 lasted for 6 matches in which he scored 127 runs.
Given that he is 37-years-old and retired from international cricket with a downward graph of run scoring, McCullum might not get a bid this time around. Any franchise who wishes to do well needs something in return from their players and it always looks for players who have a high return value. McCullum has probably gone past his best by date and it will be hard for him to get a franchise get interested in buying him.
GAUTAM GAMBHIR
Gautam Gambhir has always spoken his mind whether on the field and off the field. Gambhir returned to his home franchise of Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2017, after parting ways with Kolkata Knight Riders, with whom he had won the IPL two times.
However, things didn’t go as well as he had thought and Gambhir had to step down from his post of the captaincy after Delhi won just 1 game out of the first six, they played. Gambhir too scored just 85 runs in those matches including a score of 55. Gambhir gave up the captaincy and then the franchise dropped him from the team as well, preferring Shreyas Iyer as captain.
Now that Delhi has released Gambhir from the team, the 37-year-old will have a tough time scouting for a new franchise for IPL 2019. Given that he is not in contention for international cricket, and has been only playing for Delhi in domestic cricket; not many franchises may have any interest in buying him.
YUVRAJ SINGH
One player who might have been tailor-made for this league is Yuvraj Singh, who led Kings XI Punjab in the first three years of the league. Yuvraj was made for the format, given his exploits in T20 internationals; but unfortunately, his performance in the league over the years has been unsatisfactory, to say the least.
He has been the highest paid Indian player in the league for more than two seasons, but that hasn’t translated into performances with either bat or ball on a consistent basis. This had led to Kings XI Punjab buying him in the IPL 2018 auction for his base price of INR 2 crores. Yuvraj played 8 matches for the team and scored just 65 runs and didn’t pick any wicket.
Given that KXIP released him before the IPL 2019 auction and that he hasn’t played any international cricket for India since 2017; Yuvraj is not only short of match practice but is also out of fitness required to perform at the highest level.
He was picked for his base price in the 2018 auction in the second round and it seems, this time, the franchises might not be interested in buying Yuvraj for even that price, given his past form and performances in the league.