The IPL 2024 auction is just a few hours away from now and perenially the suspense will always be on which player will attract the most bids from a franchise or how the franchises will engage in a bidding war for a key player.
A total of 119 overseas players are set to go under the hammer among the 333 overall list. In this piece, we will discuss the players who might not fetch any bids from any of the 10 franchises at the auction. Let’s take a look at three big foreign names that will go unsold in the auction on Wednesday (December 19).
3. Steve Smith
The Australian batter and former IPL captain of Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant will be one of the top established international stars featured in the mini-auction. Smith’s base price for the auction is INR 2 crore.
Notching up back-to-back hundreds for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League 2022-23 didn’t help the stylish Australian batter find an IPL team in the previous auction. He was seen in a new avatar of a commentator with the league’s official television broadcaster in India last season.
With the focus on the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup this year, Australia played just eight T20 International matches. Smith was involved in just two of them against India last month, scoring 71 runs in two innings, including a fine half-century in Visakhapatnam.
He scored a marvelous 61 runs off 42 balls against Melbourne Renegades to set up an eight-run win for the Sydney Sixers in their first match of BBL 2023-24. The reason IPL franchises may overlook Smith is because of the fast-paced shift observed in T20 cricket. His No.3 role of anchor might not suit him to accelerate the innings.
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2. James Neesham
James Neesham has been a regular international player in the IPL auction. The New Zealand all-rounder is someone who cannot replicate his international show in the cash-rich league. In other words, Neesham has been inconsistent in IPL whenever he was presented with opportunities.
Neesham’s first season with Delhi Capitals was a decent outing, where he scored 42 runs in three innings. He was part of the Punjab Kings in IPL 2020. However, an underwhelming show with the bat (19 runs in three innings) led the team management to release him from the squad.
Neesham was roped in by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021 but the southpaw couldn’t open his account in the two innings he played for the five-time IPL champions that season.
1. Mustafizur Rahman
The Bangladesh fast bowler has played 48 IPL matches in six seasons for four franchises with his last stint being with the Delhi Capitals from 2022 to 2023. He played 10 matches for the Capitals combined in both seasons. He made just two appearances last year for the David Warner-led side that had an abundance of left-arm pacers in Indian players such as Khaleel Ahmed and Chetan Sakariya.
Mustafizur hasn’t been able to pick wickets effectively even though he can contain runs. In the last 24 matches, he played in IPL since 2021, he has a strike rate of 23.69. With stiff competition from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the left-arm pacer from Bangladesh is likely to be overlooked.
