The two-day mega auction for the 15th season of the Indian Premier League began today in Bengaluru. A total of 590 players from 14 countries, including India, are up for grabs. Of these, 228 are capped players, 355 uncapped and seven players are from associate nations of the International Cricket Council. While 370 players are Indian, 220 are overseas players in the final auction list.
While there will be a strong fight for players, some of them may not be picked up during the auction. Players like David Miller, Suresh Raina, and Steve Smith are still unsold in the ongoing auction.
However, for these unsold players, it’s not necessarily the end of the road.
Unsold players are able to be bid upon once more once the main auction draws to a close. Teams are able to bid on all unsold players throughout the categories in the accelerated auction on Sunday. Many of the unsold players are picked up during the accelerated auction.
If players still remain unsold at the end of the two day auction, there’s still a chance of them to play in the IPL.
IPL Teams are able to contact and ‘purchase’ any of the unsold players from the pool if they need a replacement for any player on their team, in case of injury or sickness.
Finally, unsold players are also hired by teams to fill up practice teams for the main squad.
IPL 2021 auction had seen a total of 241 players unsold at the end of the auction. This year, with two additional teams, the number is expected to be much lower.
