If the IPL 2022 mega action has been over-kind to someone in terms of millions of cash splashed, it was surely a disappointment for several veteran Indian heavyweights, especially Suresh Raina. A total of 203 players (137 Indians, 66 overseas) were sold in two days of gruelling action in Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians stole the show spending big on the likes of Jofra Archer and Tim David; defending champions Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants made some smart buys. Yet there was no place for the likes of Raina, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, etc.
Let’s take a look at some of the Indian veterans who didn’t find a place.
Suresh Raina
At a time when franchises are spending millions on youngsters, former India middle-order Batsman Suresh Raina surprisingly found no takers. The dashing southpaw, who retired from international cricket in 2020, had a base price of Rs 2 crore and was ignored during the main round.
Everyone thought Raina’s name would come in the accelerated auction and will be picked at his base price, but shockingly it didn’t happen. This means Raina, who has played for Chennai Super Kings all his career, went unsold for the first time in an IPL auction.
With 5528 runs, Raina is the fourth-highest run-getter in IPL and will be missing the competition for the second successive time. He pulled out of 2021 in UAE due to personal reasons. Lack of competitive games might have played a big role against him.
Amit Mishra
The oldest player in the IPL 2022 mega player auction, Amit Mishra found no bidders in Bengaluru. Having a base price of Rs 2 crore, Mishra was not even considered in the accelerated auction too. For the record, Mishra, who has been with the Delhi franchise since 2015, has 166 wickets in IPL in 154 matches. Last year he played four games taking six wickets. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in the IPL – three. Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has two.
Cheteshwar Pujara
When Chennai Super Kings upped the paddle for Cheteshwar Pujara last year, it made the whole room applause the Yellow Army. A season later, the Test-specialist, Pujara didn’t find a team despite keeping his base price at Rs 50 lakhs. He is a one-time IPL champion through with Chennai Super Kings. Pujara had IPL stints with Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings before joining CSK last year. He has 390 runs in 30 IPL matches.
Ishant Sharma
Another shocking omission was pacer Ishant Sharma. The lanky Delhi lad, who made his unavailable from the state’s Ranji Trophy squad, failed to draw a bid from any of the team franchises. His last IPL side was Delhi Capitals last season. After going unsold in IPL 2018 auction, Ishant made a brilliant comeback and scalped 13 wickets for Delhi in 2019. However, in the next two seasons Ishant got one and three games respectively.
Piyush Chawla
A champion with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, leggie Piyush Chawla is another big Indian name that went unsold at the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Put up at a base price of Rs 1 crore, Chawla didn’t find any bidder, not even his previous franchise Chennai Super Kings. He has played for Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.
