IPL 2025 Auction: 5 top unsold players
Each IPL mega auction stirs up a level of excitement like never before. Something similar was experienced at the mega auction for IPL 2025 as the grand spectacle in Jeddah saw a whole lot of action with a substantial number of players attracting handsome bids.
However, out of the 577 players who got shortlisted from the registered lot of 1,574, as many as 102 of them failed to gain any interest. Interestingly, some of these players had been IPL regulars and arguably the top performers.
1) David Warner (base price – INR 2 crore)
The swashbuckling southpaw who has been in the thick of the cash-rich league failed to find any takers. Currently, the fourth leading run-scorer in the IPL, he has played for only two franchises throughout his career – Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Warner’s run with the Orange Army saw him win the title in a historic 2016 edition.
Warner finished as the second leading run getter in that particular season. In the 184 matches, he has struck better than the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He has also managed to score 62 half-centuries, more than the aforementioned IPL greats. Earlier this year, he opted to retire from international cricket and made it a point to focus only on domestic T20 competitions.
2) Jonny Bairstow (base price – INR 2 crore)
Much like Warner, Bairstow has also been a part of only two franchises in his IPL career. Bairstow’s hard-hitting performances in domestic T20s were one of the main reasons he was acquired by SRH, for whom he delivered when called upon for three seasons. Bairstow was bought by the Punjab Kings at the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022.
Buttler’s stint with PBKS was split across two phases. He did not feature for them in 2023, he recovering from a freak injury he suffered while playing golf. The 2022 and 2024 editions saw him perform above-par. However, the English wicketkeeper-batter failed to draw any interest at the mega auction in Jeddah.
3) Shardul Thakur (base price – INR 2 crore)
Indian allrounder Shardul Thakur has not been in India reckoning for quite some time. He has represented five franchises up until now. However, his role at the Chennai Super Kings was what brought his stock up as far as 20-over cricket is concerned. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, he was truly shaped into a versatile all-rounder.
He was one of the pivotal cogs in CSK’s machinery in their title-winning season in 2021. His death overs bowling was one of the main reasons for him to claim 21 wickets in that season. When needed with the bat, he always showed glimpses of the attacking prowess. On his return to CSK in IPL 2024 after a couple of seasons, he saw himself being benched due to the franchise having better alternatives at their disposal.
4) Prithvi Shaw (base price – INR 75 lakh)
After seven long years with DC, Shaw was let go ahead of the auction. However, his hard-hitting style and fearless play had set high hopes of being fetched by any of the other franchises, if not DC.
Shaw has all the shots when it comes to taking charge of bowlers in the shortest format. The then-head coach of DC, Ricky Ponting, would always go the extra mile to encourage and motivate Shaw. It came as a big surprise that a player once retained for INR 7.5 crore ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022, went unsold in the mega auction.
5) Kane Williamson (base price – INR 2 crore)
The former SRH skipper could not generate interest at the mega auction. Although not quite fitting the mold of the typical T20 batter, Williamson was always a sure pick in the middle-order of SRH over the years. His last two seasons (2023 and 2024) in the league were plagued by a knee injury and getting dropped, respectively. However, he was a precious asset for SRH.
IPL 2018 was when he truly dazzled, scoring 735 runs in 17 innings. Although he was never able to emulate his 20-over form since, he played a vital role for SRH. Seeing a veteran such as Williamson get overlooked was truly not many would have foreseen.
